Hiding at Hogwarts
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: After Harry's second Hogwarts year, he decides to hide at Hogwarts instead of going back to the Dursleys. However, this plan leads to unexpected realisations and consequences. Completely AU, partly OOC, sick!Harry
1. The Stunt

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**1 – The Stunt**

Harry sighed when the Hogwarts Express pulled into King's Cross and his friends jumped from their seats in excitement. To tell the truth, he was a bit excited too; of course not because he was going to meet his beloved family, but because he was going to do the first real stunt of his life. He had planned everything in detail. Now it was just a matter of being extremely careful, and maybe he needed some luck, although he deemed himself quite lucky if he considered what had happened during his first two years at Hogwarts and how he had managed to get away from everything unharmed.

He quickly followed his friends out onto the platform, allowed Mrs. Weasley to pull him into a bear hug and said good-bye to his friends, before he stepped away, unobtrusively threw his invisibility cloak over and re-boarded the train, sighing in relief as he let himself sink into a seat. '_I wonder if the train is leaving again soon, or if it'll only leave at eleven tomorrow morning_,' he thought, just like he had questioned himself several times since he had made the decision to not return to the Dursleys a few weeks ago. As soon as he had made the decision, he had practised a shrinking charm as well as an enlargement charm and had managed to shrink his trunk the previous evening, so that he could carry it in his robe pocket.

Harry held his breath in shock when suddenly people began to board the train. However, he was lucky and no one entered his compartment. '_Well, at least I know now that the train will be leaving again soon_,' he mused. '_I have to be very careful in case someone comes in here though, considering that they can't see me_.' He had to try hard to keep himself awake during the travel, especially when it became late evening. '_I should have hidden before boarding the train this morning_,' he thought, '_but I had to keep up appearances. It was important that everyone saw me on the platform_.'

It was already after midnight when the train finally reached Hogsmeade. Hidden under the invisibility cloak, Harry stumbled out of the train and tiredly headed home, unaware of the fact that a faint alarm could be heard in the Headmaster's office.

_Headmaster's office ~_

"Albus, what is that sound?" Professor McGonagall asked in surprise.

Professor Dumbledore stood from the armchair in front of the fireplace in his living room, where he was playing wizard's chess with his best friend, and stepped down into his office. "The wards around Harry's home seem to come down," he said in concern, staring at a small device on his desk in disbelief.

"Will Harry be all right?" McGonagall asked in concern, stepping behind him.

"Probably. The wards are still up, just not as high as usual. I have no idea what caused them to come down so much."

"Maybe Harry's uncle is abusing him again," McGonagall said angrily. "If you only saw reason and allowed anyone else to become his guardian instead of sending the sweet child back to that hellhole."

"Now now, Minerva. The Dursleys won't be so bad..."

"Albus," the Scottish lioness sighed in exasperation, "do you really believe Harry would come to ask you if he could remain at Hogwarts instead of going back there if they weren't so bad? He asked you last year, and he asked you this year, and I know for a fact that he absolutely hates to draw attention on himself. He wouldn't have asked you if not for a valid reason. And you know very well what Poppy told you about his health and that he is showing all the signs of an abused child. Why don't you let me take him in? Or at least someone else? Even Severus would be a better guardian than those horrible Muggles."

The Headmaster sighed in defeat. "Very well, Minerva. Let's see how everything develops, and if something happens this summer, I promise that I'll do something about it."

"Thank you, Albus," McGonagall said in relief and allowed herself to be pulled into a hug.

"You're worrying too much, Minnie. Harry will be all right. He is strong," Dumbledore said soothingly. "Let's go to bed. It's late, and we still have two months of holidays."

_Harry's new room ~_

At the same time, Harry finally reached his aim, a deserted office far into an unused part of Hogwarts, which he had found on his search for a place to spend his summer holidays. He closed the door behind himself and waved his wand at one of the torches that turned the dark room into sparse light. '_Thank God, I'm finally home_,' he realised as he took his invisibility cloak off and neatly draped it over a chair, feeling very happy at the thought.

"Hello, little one," he suddenly heard a voice. "What are you doing in my office?"

Harry glanced around in shock, before he became aware of the fact that it was a portrait that was speaking to him.

"Hello," he said in a small voice. "I'm sorry for intruding your office. I thought it was deserted and belonged to no one."

"It belongs to me, but you must be my heir; otherwise you wouldn't have been able to find and access it," the older witch in the portrait replied kindly. "For all other people, the wall outside in the hall just appears as normal wall. They can't see the door and open it."

"I'm sorry, Madame, but... who are you?" Harry asked hesitantly. "I am Harry by the way, Harry Potter."

"I know who you are, my boy. I have seen you around during the school year."

'_I don't think I've seen the woman before_,' Harry mused, throwing the friendly witch a curious look.

_tbc..._


	2. The Portrait

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**2 – The Portrait**

"Oh excuse me for not introducing myself, my boy. I am Helga Hufflepuff."

Harry let out a gasp. "You're one of the Founders of Hogwarts," he blurted out, looking at the witch in the portrait in amazement.

"Well, at least you've heard of that," the older witch chuckled.

"Excuse me, Madame, but how can I be an heir of you? My father... Oh well, according to Professor Dumbledore, my father belonged to a side line of the Gryffindors, and my mother was muggleborn..." Harry slowly trailed off as the portrait chuckled again.

"Muggleborn? Ha! So many people think that their parents are Muggles, although in fact they are Squibs. I don't know if that's the case with your mother, but I think so. I don't know if you have ever visited Madam Pomfrey in her office, but a portrait of mine is hanging over her desk, so that I know most of the students, who have ever stayed in the hospital wing. I know that there was a witch a few years ago. She had the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen, just like yours, but she had red hair. I always sensed that she had to be my heir, but unfortunately, I never had a chance to speak with her, because she didn't come into the office."

'_That sounds like my mum looks in the pictures Hagrid gave me_,' Harry mused, before he told Helga in a small voice what had happened to his mother.

"Oh my poor boy, I'm so sorry," Helga said softly. "Is that why you're hiding here? Because you have nowhere to go during the summer?"

"Um... err... I am supposed to spend the summer with my relatives, but they hate me so much. I asked Professor Dumbledore if I could stay here, but he won't allow me to do so. He always sends me back there. However, what I can't understand... If I am your heir, why didn't the Sorting Hat place me into your House but suggested Slytherin at first and then chose Gryffindor?"

Helga rolled her eyes. "Ah, Sopho, that crappy piece of cloth. Godric invented it and its more than dubious Sorting method. I can't believe that they're still using the arrogant know-it-all of a filthy hat to sort the students. Just ask Sopho why he didn't properly sort you. He is stupid."

Harry looked at the Founder in disbelief. '_I wonder why they accepted the method if they found the Hat so crazy?_' he wondered. '_Well, it really seems stupid, considering that I was so easily able to talk him out of putting me into Slytherin_.'

"Harry, you may stay here in my quarters. Since you're my heir, no one will be able to throw you out of Hogwarts," Helga said firmly. "Now, if you put your hand on the small stone badger on the second shelf from the right and the fifth shelf from the top, you will be able to access my private quarters. There is another painting of my friends and me in the living room, from where I will be able to communicate with you. I suggest that you head straight to bed." She pointed to a charmed display of time at the ceiling. "It's far after midnight, and you must be exhausted. Sleep well, Harry, and we'll continue our conversation in the morning."

"Thank you so much, Madame Hufflepuff," Harry replied gratefully, causing the witch to chuckle.

"Just call me Grandmother, Harry; that's what I am."

"Err... all right... Granny," Harry replied, suddenly feeling very excited at the thought of having found a caring relative. However, he was too tired to further dwell on the matter and quickly looked for the stone badger. As soon as he carefully laid his hand on the artefact, the bookshelf moved sideways, opening the way to an old fashioned living room, furnished with furniture of several different ages. Some of the sideboards seemed to be very old.

"Now Harry, I see you found my living room. The bathroom is on the right hand side, and the bedroom is right next to it. Just come and ask me if you have any questions."

Harry turned around, finding Helga smiling at him from a huge painting that was hanging above a very comfortable looking old sofa. There were three other people in the picture, whom Helga introduced as Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin.

"Good evening, everyone; thank you, Grandmother. Good night," he mumbled tiredly and headed straight to the bedroom. Feeling too exhausted to enlarge his trunk, he merely pulled his robes off and let himself sink on the large bed, which looked overly inviting.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

By the time Harry woke up, sunshine was streaming into the bedroom through an amazingly large window that allowed him to overlook the grounds, the lake and the road to Hogsmeade. He stood in front of the window, wondering if it was a real window or a charmed one. '_Probably it's real_,' he thought, '_I'm in the bedroom of one of the Founders. They certainly chose good positions for their quarters with real windows_.' He enlarged his trunk and headed to the bathroom to take a shower, before he stepped into the living room to once again speak with the Founders, suddenly feeling very hungry.

"Good morning, Professors," he hesitantly greeted the witches and wizards in the portrait. "Thank you so much for allowing me to stay in your quarters, Grandmother."

"You better get out of my sight quickly," the man, whom Helga had introduced as Salazar Slytherin, growled. "I heard that you are the one, who killed my basilisk a few weeks ago."

"That was your basilisk?" Harry asked in shock and disbelief.

"Yes, she was my familiar," Salazar replied angrily, turning to Godric Gryffindor. "And according to my portrait in the dungeons, Sopho and Fawkes helped him."

"I'm glad they did, Sal," Godric said firmly. "Harry is a relative of mine. I wouldn't have wanted your stupid basilisk to harm him."

"Professor Slytherin, I'm very sorry..." Harry began to profusely apologize to the Founder, who interrupted him rudely.

"Rubbish! You're not sorry at all."

"Now shut up, Salazar," Rowena Ravenclaw threw in sternly. "Tom Riddle, who is a relative of yours, if you allow me to emphasize that, forced him to kill her. It's his fault, just like the entire war is his fault. You shouldn't talk about anyone else's doing. Harry is a very sweet boy, and he will do great things in the future. It's his job to defeat that evil man." She turned to Harry. "Seeing that you're going to stay here during the summer, the four of us can teach you many things, which might help you on your way."

"I'd love that," Harry replied in surprise and anticipation. '_The Founders are going to teach me_,' he thought in amazement. '_That's too cool_.'

"Rowena is a Seer, Harry," Helga informed him gently. "I hope you had a good rest?"

"Yes. I can't remember when I've ever slept until eleven in the morning before," Harry said quietly. "Oh, by the way, do you know if there is a way to get something to eat here during the summer holidays?"

Godric laughed aloud. "Leo, this castle is full of house-elves, who have nothing else to do than to cook and prepare food for the humans living here, and during the summer, the elves are always very bored. They'll be enthralled to give you something to eat whenever you want."

"House-elves?" Harry asked in surprise. "Like Dobby? I mean..."

"I know Dobby. He visited you in the hospital wing a few months ago, didn't he?" Helga asked smirking. "Yes, he is a house-elf; however, he belongs to a wizarding family..."

"He belonged to the Malfoys, but I freed him," Harry impatiently interrupted the Founder and told Helga everything about Dobby.

"Oh well, do you know where the kitchens are?" Helga queried, slightly slapping Salazar's shoulder.

"The kitchens?"

"Very well then, go back to my office. In the top drawer of my desk, you'll find a tiny photo frame with a small portrait of Salazar. Even if he is very rude and pretends to hate you, you must know that in fact he doesn't. If you're my heir, you're his as well, because he is my husband, just like Rowena is Godric's wife. Anyway, take Salazar's portrait with you and pull your invisibility cloak over. He'll lead you to the kitchens. The house-elves will be glad to serve you. Be careful though, because I'm not sure if the Headmaster or any of the other teachers will be able to look through invisibility cloaks. Now, if you don't want to leave these rooms, you'll have to wait until the elves, who always look after my rooms just like after the other teachers' quarters, come here."

"I think I'll go and try to find the kitchens, if Professor Slytherin doesn't mind me taking his mini portrait with me," Harry said hesitantly, and soon he was on his way out of the quarters with the small portrait of his many times great grandfather in his left hand.

To his surprise, the professor seemed to be in a much better mood than he had been earlier, and his voice held no malice as he guided him through the empty halls. All of a sudden, after descending a hidden staircase, he became alert when Salazar stopped in front of the portrait of a snake and hissed, "Open."

'_This is not the way to the kitchens_,' Harry realised, horrified, as he automatically stepped forward and the door closed behind him, shutting with a small thud. '_This looks more like the Chamber of Secrets_.'

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews. I hope you liked the chapter. When I began to write chapter three today, I noticed that the story is headed in a different direction than I intended for it to head, so I'd like to ask you something... Question: Apart from the Founders, whom would you like to have involved in this story? a) Minerva and Albus, b) Severus or c) Poppy? _


	3. The Chamber

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**3 – The Chamber**

"Excuse me, sir, but what are we doing here?" Harry asked the portrait, causing Salazar to chuckle.

"Are you frightened?" he queried, raising an eyebrow in a way that reminded Harry of Professor Snape.

"No sir," Harry lied, anxiously glancing around.

"Since you seem to be my heir, I want to show you something. I don't think Tom Riddle ever found out, since he is only the heir of my younger brother and not mine, just like Severus Snape is the heir of my older sister." He guided Harry through a small opening in the wall that appeared after hissing "Open" once again.

Harry looked around in disbelief as he found himself in a living room. It was built around a fireplace and was equipped with several wooden chairs and an old wooden table as well as a bookshelf.

"Touch the snake's head on the bookshelf," Salazar instructed him, and Harry curiously obliged, making the bookshelf move sideward.

Harry let out a huge gasp as he stepped into the room, which the bookshelf revealed. It was full with bookshelves, reaching from the floor to the ceiling, and could rival the size of the Hogwarts library. '_A library_,' he realised, '_and a huge one_.' "Is this your personal library, sir?" he asked.

"Yes, my boy. The last three rows contain books in Parselscript; all the other books are written in old English. However, Rowena can teach you a spell, which you can use to change old English into modern English. Unfortunately or fortunately," he smirked, "this spell doesn't work on Parselscript."

Harry chuckled. "I can understand Parseltongue, but I don't know if I'll be able to read it," he admitted and stepped over to one of the rows Salazar had indicated for the books in Parselscript.

"Take the fifth book from the right," Salazar instructed him, and Harry curiously opened the relatively thin book. "It's my diary," the Founder added, causing Harry to gasp.

"Yes sir, I can read it," he confirmed.

"Very good. You can come back some time and translate a few of my Potions manuals into modern English. At that time I thought I was clever to write them in Parselscript, so that no one else could find out about my inventions. However, there are many recipes, which I would like Severus to know. As I told you, he is a relative of mine as well, and I'm very proud of him. He is the only acceptable Potions Master I've ever known."

"He is said to be the best Potions Master Britain has ever seen since your time, sir," Harry replied, feeling very uncomfortable at the thought of the Potions Master. "Unfortunately, he hates me with a passion, although I don't even know why."

The man in the portrait chuckled. "I can tell you the reason. You very much resemble your father, who was a complete bully, especially towards Severus. He doesn't know that the two of you are related though, and I'm sure that the translation of one or two selected potions recipes can make him a very valuable ally for you."

Harry threw the man a doubtful look, before he asked, "Which books would you suggest to take with me? During the holidays, I've lots of time to translate."

Salazar cleared his throat. "Turn me around, so that I can see the shelf," he sneered.

'_Oh, of course; I'm stupid_,' Harry thought and turned the small frame. "Bring me nearer to the shelf, more to the right," the Potions Master in the portrait growled, causing Harry to inwardly chuckle. '_I can see Snape in him_,' he mused, '_although Salazar seems to be much nicer_.'

In the meantime, Salazar seemed to have spotted what he had been searching for and instructed Harry, which books he wanted him to take with him. It was quite a pile, and Harry had to cast a shrinking charm on the books in order to fit them into his robe pocket. Suddenly, his stomach grumbled loudly, causing the Founder to smirk.

"Behind the bookshelf over there," he pointed to a shelf at the far end of the room, "is my private Potions lab, but we'll visit the lab the next time. I better lead you to the kitchens now, before my wife kills me for starving you," he smirked and led Harry back out of his secret chambers.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

To Harry's huge surprise, in the kitchen, several dozen house-elves surrounded him as soon as he took his invisibility cloak off and offered him any kind of food he might even be able to think of.

Suddenly, Dobby stood in front of Harry, bowing deeply. "What is the great Harry Potter doings here?" he asked, astonished, causing Harry to tell him about his stunt.

"Dobby wills always be grateful because Harry Potter freed me. Professor Dumbledore offered me to work at Hogwarts, and Dobby is being paid. Dobby is still a free elf." He proudly showed Harry his new outfit. "Dobby wills cares for Harry Potter as long as he lives in Professor Hufflepuff's quarters. Harry Potter cans calls Dobby at anytime."

"Thank you so much, Dobby. In fact I'd prefer to eat in Professor Hufflepuff's quarters, because I don't want to meet the Headmaster here."

"Dobby wills brings the meals to Harry Potter, no problem," Dobby reassured him firmly, and Harry felt very relieved when he was on his way back under his invisibility cloak.

'_Who knows if Dumbledore doesn't go to the kitchens to have cocoa from time to time_,' he mused as he headed back to Helga's quarters, when suddenly Salazar began to talk to him from the mini portrait, which he had slipped into his robe pocket.

"Before I forget... Don't tell Rowena and Godric where the entrance to my personal rooms is," he said sternly. "They have been trying to find it out for nearly one thousand years."

Harry grinned and promised to keep the secret. He entered Helga's quarters and carefully placed Salazar's portrait back into the drawer, thanking the Founder profusely for taking him to the kitchen, before he made himself comfortable on the sofa in the living room, piling Salazar's books as well as his school books on the table. '_Let's get a head start on my summer assignments, before I begin with the translations_,' he thought.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

During the first week of the holidays, Harry worked on his homework in the mornings and on the translations in the afternoon, noticing soon that it was very convenient to have four full grown witches and wizards at his side, who were readily willing to help when he had questions. Dobby came and brought him something to eat and drink whenever Harry called him. Two days into the second week, Harry finished the last of his summer assignments.

"Thank you so much for your help," he told the Founders. "I'm so glad I could finish my homework, because I couldn't do anything at all last summer, because my relatives took all my books from me."

"Well, from now on we're going to teach you," Rowena informed him. "We will take turns teaching you in the mornings. You'll still be able to do some translations during the afternoons and in the evenings."

"No," Helga objected firmly. "The poor child has to get out sometimes. He needs some fresh air. Just look at him. He is already pale as a ghost." Turning to Harry, she explained, "Somewhere, Salazar is keeping a small portrait of mine. Ask him to lead you there and get it. Then I will take you to a small herb garden, which is situated on one of the roofs. Only Madam Pomfrey and Severus Snape have access to it."

"I can take the boy there," Salazar growled, causing his wife to chuckle.

"No problem, Sal. Go on then. I just thought you were tired of leading Harry here and there."

Harry grinned. The four friends in the painting spent much time teasing each other and carrying out small fights about nothing. '_I love the atmosphere here. It's so very relaxing_,' he thought as he tried to concentrate on his translation of Salazar's diary.

"Harry, are you feeling all right?" Helga suddenly asked, seeing that Harry was rubbing his forehead for the umpteenth time.

"Yes, I'm fine," Harry replied, thinking that his grandmother was very observing. Unfortunately, he didn't feel all too well. He had the impression as if he became more tired by the day, and a dull ache behind his temples had been pestering since the previous day. He decided to go to bed early, hoping that he would feel better in the morning. '_I should get up early, so that I can finish Salazar's diary before my morning classes with the Founders. I wonder what they're going to teach me_,' he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your overwhelming reviews - due to which you received this fast update. I hope you liked it :-)_


	4. Classes

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**4 – Classes**

To Harry's surprise, the Founders seemed to take his classes very seriously. While one of them was teaching Harry, the others left to visit other portraits, so that he always found himself alone with one of the professors. Rowena taught him Charms and useful spells, Godric tried to instruct him in wandless magic, Helga told him much about herbs that were used in Healing potions, before she began to teach him easy diagnostic spells, and Salazar gave him a solid knowledge about potions ingredients and potions brewing.

"I'd love to take you to my personal lab and have you brew potions, but since I'm not able to rescue you in case you make a mistake, it would be too dangerous," Salazar told him, sounding very sad about the matter. "Maybe once in the near future you'll manage to get along with your Uncle Severus, so that I can train you together.

'_Uncle Severus_,' Harry mused, rolling his eyes at the thought of Snape being his cousin. '_I can imagine how pleased he would be if he knew_.'

During his second class with Godric, the professor suddenly transformed into a phoenix like Fawkes. #Can you understand me, Leo?# he trilled, causing Harry to nod hesitantly.

"Yes sir, just like I can understand Fawkes. You're a beautiful phoenix," he replied in amazement.

Godric transformed back and laughed. "Well, the fact that you're able to understand Fawkes and me means that you will be a phoenix Animagus as well, provided that you manage the Animagus transformation..."

"Really?" Harry interrupted the wizard in excitement. "Oh please, can you teach me how to become an Animagus?"

Godric agreed and instructed Harry to imagine the bird he wanted to become and simply try to change his left hand. From that instant onwards, Harry used every free second to try transforming his hand into a wing, even while he was translating potions recipes for Salazar. It took him two weeks until he finally managed to change his left hand. He stared in amazement at the white feathers. When he looked up, he found the four Founders staring at him with proud expressions.

"Congratulations Harry. You'll be a wonderful ice phoenix," Rowena was the first to speak up.

"Thank you," Harry replied and changed his hand back, eager to complete the recipe he was just translating. '_These are the best holidays I ever had so far_,' he thought as he absentmindedly rubbed his forehead in a faint attempt to get rid of the headache that was slowing becoming unbearable. '_I hope I won't get sick_,' he thought, noticing that his whole body was beginning to feel very heavy. However, by the end of the week, he felt even worse. When he woke up on Friday morning, he felt cold although it was the middle of the summer, and his throat began to ache so much that he could hardly swallow. He pulled one of his warm Weasley jumpers under his robes and dragged himself into the living room. "Good morning," he greeted the Founders, trying to set up a small smile.

"Harry," Helga gasped. "Are you sick?"

"I'm fine," Harry said wearily, causing the Healer to roll her eyes.

"Harry, how stupid do you think I am? I am not a Healer for nothing," Helga replied, sounding slightly angry.

"Ah Helga, leave Leo in piece. If he says he's fine, he'll be all right," Godric threw in, smiling at Harry.

"Harry, did your relatives forbid you to complain when you were feeling unwell?" Rowena queried in a soft voice, motioning for her husband to be quiet.

"They just locked me into my cupboard and ignored me when I was sick," Harry admitted in a small voice, unaware of the pointed look the two witches exchanged.

"Harry, come here and let me look at you," Helga instructed him firmly.

Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance but complied, feeling his cheeks turn red at the unwanted attention. The Healer motioned for him to lit the tip of his wand and open his mouth, so that she could closely examine his throat, eyes and ears. Finally, she called Dobby. "Please fetch me a thermometer and a Pepperup potion from the hospital wing, but don't tell anyone," she instructed the elf, who brought the requested items mere seconds later.

"Harry, please take your temperature," Helga demanded, causing Harry to groan inwardly.

"No, I'm fine," he said firmly and returned to his favourite seat, pulling Salazar's book and his translation close.

"My, aren't you naughty today?" Salazar sneered. "If you don't want to get to know the bad side of your grandmother, you better at least take the Pepperup potion."

Seeing that the three of the Founders were glaring at him, while Godric was grinning in amusement, Harry gulped down the potion, noticing that it didn't really help.

"If you feel better now," Helga shot him a questioning look, "I suggest that you take my small portrait and go for a walk to the herb garden. The fresh air might be good for you."

Really not wanting to make the Founder angry, Harry complied and took the small picture from the bookshelf, where he always placed it when he returned home.

"Don't forget to pull your invisibility cloak over," Helga reminded him, "even though the Headmaster can't access the garden. There are two staircases leading onto that part of the roof. One begins in Professor Snape's quarters and the other in the small lab behind Madam Pomfrey's office. We'll take the second one of course."

'_We need to cross Madam Pomfrey's office?_' Harry thought, terrified, but obediently followed Helga's instructions, glad that Madam Pomfrey seemed to be absent as he crossed the hospital wing. '_How many steps are these?_' he wondered, groaning inwardly as he dragged his heavy body upstairs for an infinite time, before he finally found himself in a huge garden on top of the roof of Hogwarts.

"Wow, this is too cool," he blurted out, carefully holding the small portrait so that Helga could take a good look around.

"Thank you so much for bringing me here, my boy," the Founder said gratefully. "I haven't been here for nearly four hundred years. At that time, an heir of Sal and myself lived in my quarters for many years, and he often brought me here."

"Excuse me, grandmother, but what exactly is this garden for?" Harry asked curiously. "I thought all the herbs and plants were being planted in the green houses."

"Well, on this roof, the Potions professor and the Healer grow all the potions ingredients that don't afford much work. They only seed the herbs and then come to harvest them whenever they need them. In the green houses, you find everything, which needs more care, for example plants that have to be re-potted and such. I think the Potions Master also takes some kind of magical moss from the roofs, but I'm not sure about that. You need to ask Salazar. He can tell you more about potions ingredients than I."

"I believe that," Harry said thoughtfully. "His potions recipes are absolutely amazing, even if I'm a complete dunderhead in Potions like Professor Snape likes to point out. This garden is huge though, and I'm surprised that I never noticed it from the grounds."

The portrait chuckled. "The garden is – of course – charmed, so that no one can see it. Even if someone was flying over the garden, he or she wouldn't be able to recognise it as a garden. Only those can see it, who have been brought here by a Healer or Potions Master."

'_Cool_,' Harry mused. '_So if Snape saw me here, he'd probably get the shock of his life_.'

During the following two hours, Helga taught him about the herbs, which they found in the first quarter of the garden. However, realising that Harry still seemed to be under the weather, she decided to finish their lesson earlier and instructed him to return to her quarters. Harry readily agreed and just walked back towards the staircase when all of a sudden, the Potions professor appeared out of a door just a few metres to his side.

'_Snape!_' Harry thought in shock and observed as the professor shut the door and stepped out into the garden. He seemed to be in a very bad mood and angrily hissed to himself. Although the man was relatively close by, Harry's ears were strangely clogged up and he could only understand small bits of the teacher's rant.

"Slytherin going nuts... wolfscure... behave... Potter... not like Lily... stupid portrait... talk to Albus..."

'_What is he going on about?_' Harry wondered, noticing with surprise that Helga began to chuckle.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews!_


	5. Problems

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**5 – Problems**

On the way back downstairs, Helga patiently explained that Salazar's main portrait was guarding the door to Professor Snape's quarters and that her husband had apparently tried to make a deal with the Potions professor involving Harry and his translations of Salazar's recipes. Harry let out a snort. '_As if Snape ever agreed to such a deal_,' he thought, sighing in relief when he reached Helga's quarters unseen.

Helga immediately called Dobby and instructed him to bring whatever Harry wanted to eat. Lacking the energy to fight with the stubborn woman, Harry obediently swallowed a small portion of pumpkin soup and even agreed to take a short nap on the sofa afterwards. Unfortunately, by the time he woke up, he didn't feel any better. He slowly sat up, noticing that he felt very dizzy and that Salazar was talking to him from the portrait.

"Hey lazybones; don't sleep through the whole day. My potions book is waiting to be translated," the Founder sneered, causing Harry to apologize.

"I'm sorry, I didn't intend to sleep the whole day," he replied in a small voice, shivering slightly.

Of course this didn't go unnoticed by Helga, who called Dobby and instructed him to check Harry's temperature. Dobby quickly laid his hand on Harry's forehead, before he fetched the thermometer from the table and coaxed it under the boy's tongue. Unaware of the concerned looks his great grandparents gave him at his lack of protest, Harry unconsciously leaned into Dobby's cold touch. After a short while, orange numbers appeared from the back side of the thermometer, displaying, '_38.4_.' (101.1)

"Harry Potter is having a fever and should rest," Dobby told him and fetched Harry's pillow and covers for him from the bedroom, motioning for him to lie down again, before he quietly exchanged a few words with Helga.

"Thank you, Dobby," Harry replied and snuggled into the blanket, before he pulled Salazar's book, the parchment and his quill over and resumed his translation work, until his headache became too bad and he put everything away and lay down again. However, he couldn't sleep anymore and felt worse by the hour. He merely lay there with his eyes closed, hoping that whatever was pestering him would clear up soon.

Suddenly, Helga's voice penetrated his foggy mind. "Harry, fetch my small portrait from the shelf and let me get a close look at you," she instructed him firmly, causing Harry to groan inwardly.

He reached for the small portrait that told him, "Let's go into the bedroom."

"No Helga, remain here. We'll give you some privacy," Rowena said gently, pulling the two wizards with her out of the portrait.

"Now tell me exactly what's ailing you," Helga said sternly, "and I want to hear the truth. Otherwise, I won't be able to help you."

"I don't know. It's not so bad. I just feel a bit unwell, and my whole body is sore," he said hesitantly, noticing that the Healer looked at him in concern as he admitted that his head had already been aching for weeks.

"You should have told me when you began to feel unwell weeks ago," the ancient Healer said reproachfully. "Now, light the tip of your wand and let me examine you once again. It can't be a cold; otherwise, it would be gone by now."

By the time Helga finished her examination, Harry felt totally exhausted. Seeing that he was shivering violently, Helga instructed him, "Take your temperature," only to add, "Otherwise I will call Madam Pomfrey right away," when he let out an annoyed groan.

Feeling too bad to fight with Helga, Harry obeyed, shivering even more at the cold touch of the glassy device in his mouth. After an infinite time, a red, '_39.2_' emerged from the thermometer.

"Your fever is still climbing up," Helga said worriedly. "I hope that it's only the wizard's flu and not anything strange. Too bad that I can't cast a diagnostic spell. Over the last few hundred years, I've tried to cast wandless spells so often, but it just doesn't work. I'm sorry, Harry." She once more called Dobby. "Please fetch me two phials each of the flu potion and of a fever reducer without letting anyone know," she instructed the elf, who bowed deeply and left with a pop.

"Harry, take these potions and stay put for the time being. I hope we can get rid of this without having to call Poppy for help," Helga said firmly.

Harry lay back and closed his eyes, feeling utterly relieved that he didn't have to do any chores or homework for the time being. '_Thank God that I didn't go back to the Dursleys. Even if Helga can't check on me, at least she tries to guess, gives me proper potions and allows me to rest_,' he thought gratefully. '_I'll never ever go back to that house. Hogwarts is my real home now_.' With that happy thought in mind, he drifted off to a disturbed sleep, unaware of the fact that the Founders were going to witness his fever induced nightmares about his abusive uncle.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

_Headmaster's office ~_

At the same time, Minerva McGonagall entered the Headmaster's office with an expression of utmost concern on her face. "Albus, Arabella Figg just contacted me through the Floo. She told me that she didn't see Harry even once this summer, which is strange, because according to Arabella, he normally has to work in the garden every day during the summer. Worried that his relatives had mistreated him or that he was sick, she went to the Dursleys and asked Petunia if she could borrow Harry to help her with her garden. However, Petunia told her that Harry didn't come home after the last school year. They waited for him at the station, but he never showed up."

"He never showed up?" Dumbledore asked in disbelief, slowly unwrapping a lemon drop. "Minerva, Molly Weasley told me that all the children, including Harry, arrived at King's Cross without any problems. How is he supposed to get lost between platform nine and three quarters and the Muggle platform, where his relatives probably waited for him, hmm? I'm sure Arabella just misunderstood something. I'll ask Severus to go and check if the boy is at home. In his snake form, he'll be able to sneak into the house without attracting any attention." He turned to the fireplace and called the Potions Master, who stepped through the Floo seconds later.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Severus Snape was not happy to say the least. Only a few days ago, the Headmaster had called him to tell him that he hired a werewolf as the new Defence teacher and that he had to brew the Wolfsbane potion once a month. '_As if I didn't have enough work to do with the multiple tasks as teacher, Potions Master and Head of House_,' he thought angrily. And today, he had just been engrossed in his final preparations for an experimental potion when the Headmaster required his presence once again. He quietly listened to the old wizard's rambling, rolling his eyes in annoyance as comprehension set in.

"Very well. I'll go and see if the boy is there," he grudgingly agreed. "That's typical for Potter, isn't it? Even during the summer he has to do something stupid in order to attract everyone's attention. Maybe he didn't feel pampered enough at his relatives' home after getting so much attention from everyone here at Hogwarts," he mumbled, more to himself than to the Headmaster and his Deputy.

"Severus, we don't even know if Harry did anything. It's rather possible that something was done to him," Minerva threw in disapprovingly. "You should know how it is to grow up in an abusive home."

Severus raised an eyebrow at his old teacher. '_Potter is abused?_' he thought in disbelief. '_Why does everyone suddenly talk to me about him anyway? First Salazar's portrait, now Minerva..._' He let out a long sigh.

"I'm sorry, my boy, but I believe that you're the best to check on the boy, not only because you'll be able to hide so well in your snake form, but because you won't bring him to Hogwarts, just because he feels lonely at home," the Headmaster said firmly.

Minerva let out a long sigh. "Please check on Harry, Severus. I have a bad feeling about the whole matter. Albus, don't you remember the evening when the children went home? The alarm we heard because of the wards that came down?"

"Ah, but I don't think that the Dursleys did anything to him. A different alarm would alert me if he was in danger, life-threatening danger," Dumbledore replied soothingly, unaware of the fact that said alarm would make himself upset sooner than he could imagine.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments!_


	6. Help

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**6 – Help**

"I'll check on Potter tonight," the Potions Master promised and excused himself from the Headmaster and his Deputy. '_I just hope he'll be at the Dursleys. I certainly have more important things to do than to search the whole wizarding world for Potter_,' he mused as he strode back to the dungeons through the empty halls of the castle, refusing to even look at the Founder, who recently had turned out to be as annoying as a Gryffindor, when he uttered the password to his private quarters.

_Harry's room ~_

Harry slept for a few hours, but when he woke up again, he felt that his fever had still gone up. He gulped down his next dose of the potions and tried to sleep again to no avail. '_I'll just continue with my translation_,' he decided, unaware that Helga threw him a disapproving look.

"What do you think you're doing?" Salazar growled, but Harry decided to ignore the grumpy professor for the time being.

He spent the day translating and resting in turns, feeling absolutely miserable. Helga observed him in concern, making Dobby force him to eat and check his temperature from time to time. However, during the night, his condition worsened immensely. Realising that his breathing was becoming laboured as he slept, Helga called Dobby, who found out that Harry's fever had climbed up to 41 degrees.

"Harry, I'm sorry, but I must call Madam Pomfrey," she informed the boy in a soft voice, quickly leaving her small portrait when Harry's only reaction was a miserable moan.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Poppy jerked awake when Helga suddenly began to speak from her portrait above Poppy's bed.

"What happened?" she asked, quickly throwing her bath robes over, while the Founder told her about Harry, asking to keep the matter to herself at the same time.

Poppy hurried to where the Founder had described the entrance to her quarters to be, assuming that she was only able to see the door because of Helga's strong will. '_I've never noticed this door before_,' she realised. A few minutes later, she stood next to a barely conscious Harry Potter in the ancient Healer's living room, worriedly waving her wand over the boy. In order to share her results with the older Healer in the painting, Poppy used diagnostic spells that caused the results to emerge in large letters from the tip of her wand.

"I'm afraid that Mr. Potter has been poisoned," she finally spoke up, causing Helga to nod in agreement. "Harry," Poppy said softly, "I'm sorry, but I need Professor Snape to take a few drops of your blood and analyse it in order to be able to brew the proper antidote."

"No, not Pfessor Snape, please; he hates me and he'll use my limbs for potions ingredients," Harry replied hoarsely, reaching for the Healer's cool hand.

"I'll fetch him," Salazar offered and hurriedly left the painting.

"Harry, it's all right. You're delirious," Poppy said soothingly. "Professor Snape won't harm you, but he is the only one who can help you."

"He'll tell the Headmaster and he'll send me back to the Dursleys," Harry croaked, gripping his head in pain.

"It's all right, Harry. We'll tell him everything about your family, so he won't send you home," Rowena promised from the painting.

Poppy quietly exchanged a few words with the witches in the painting, before she told Harry, "If he tries to send you back, I will report the Dursleys to the Ministry for child abuse, and I'll personally help you to hide."

"You're safe here, Harry. No one is able to enter my quarters, whom I don't want to have here," Helga reassured him, giving Salazar an expectant look when he returned to the painting.

"Severus is absent," he growled. "My portrait said he left around midnight, was in a very bad mood and has yet to return. He'll send him here as soon as he returns."

"Oh no, where can he have gone? I hope he'll return soon," Poppy said in concern and once again waved her wand over Harry, before she transfigured the sofa into a bathtub to cool the boy down.

_The Dursleys' residence _

Severus Snape apparated straight into the Dursleys' garden, transformed into his snake Animagus form and entered the house through a small opening in the wall. He slithered through the ground floor, confirming that no one was around, before he changed back into his human form and cast an invisibility charm on himself. He thoroughly examined the house, quietly looking in every single room. Multiple snoring greeted him from the room he then assumed to be the Dursleys' bedroom. The second bed room was empty, but furnished with a small bed, a desk, a wardrobe and many broken toys. To Severus' huge surprise, the door was equipped with about a dozen different locks. '_I wonder what they are for_,' he mused, quirking an eyebrow as he took in the cat flap at the bottom of the door.

In the next room, he heard someone snore and carefully stepped nearer, recognising the boy he had seen downstairs in the photos that were decorated everywhere. The last room on the second floor was empty, apparently a guest room. On his way back outside, he checked the cupboard under the stairs, realising in surprise that the door was locked with an additional lock as well. He carefully looked inside, noticing an odd inscription in the wall. 'Harry's room' was written in untrained letters, apparently written by a child. '_Potter's room? A cupboard under the stairs?_' he thought in disbelief. '_But where is Potter?_' There was no sign of the small wizard what so ever, not even his trunk, his broom or his owl. '_Petunia obviously told Mrs. Figg the truth. Potter is not here_,' he decided and apparated straight back to the Apparition point.

_Helga's living room ~_

Madam Pomfrey was sitting on the edge of the sofa, carefully observing Harry sleep, while she talked with Helga, Rowena and Salazar in the painting. From time to time, their conversation was interrupted by Harry's delirious babbling or Godric's snoring.

All of a sudden, Salazar's portrait that was guarding the Potions Master's quarters, slipped into the Founders' painting. "Snape is back and will arrive here in a few minutes," he informed them, before he left again.

"I'll go and let him in," Madam Pomfrey said and stepped out into the empty hall, sighing in relief when she could make out Severus' dark figure in the faint moon light. "Thank God you're here, Severus," she said and quickly informed her colleague about Harry's problem.

Without losing time by asking further questions, the Potions Master magically gathered a few drops of Harry's blood in an empty phial. "I'll probably be back within thirty minutes and four hours, depending on how fast I'll be able to determine the poison and how long it takes to brew the antidote," he said thoughtfully, adding in a barely audible voice, "provided that I have the necessary ingredients."

"Hurry up please, and thank you, Severus," the Healer said softly and returned to the living room to watch over Harry.

To her surprise, Severus returned half an hour later. "It's basilisk poison," he said gravely, "and the only way to make a proper antidote is with more basilisk potion."

"Well, that's no problem," Salazar shouted from the painting. "Take my portrait and go to the Chamber of Secrets. The cadaver of my pet basilisk is still there and ready to be harvested."

"That's true," Helga threw in. "Professor Snape, that's the only method. Take my husband's mini portrait. I think Harry placed it into the bookshelf over there. He went to visit Salazar's library the other day with the help of the mini portrait."

"All right," Severus agreed and immediately left the room when Poppy pressed Salazar's portrait into his hands.

_Headmaster's office ~_

Professor Dumbledore suddenly jerked awake when an alarm was triggered in his office. Horrified, he jumped out of his bed and arrived in his office in a for his age surprisingly fast speed.

"Albus, what happened?" McGonagall asked sleepily, entering his office through the secret connection door to her private quarters.

"Harry is in danger," the Headmaster replied gravely. "I'll go and check if Severus is back and has any news," he said, before he stepped into the Floo, only to return a few minutes later. "He is not in his quarters."

"But he should be back. He wanted to leave at midnight, and now it's already half past four in the morning. Perhaps he is in his lab?" McGonagall queried, anxiously glancing at the beeping device. "Albus, I'm going to take the Floo to Arabella's place and go to the Dursleys. Maybe Death Eaters are attacking him. I'm too worried to wait here."

"I checked his lab, his office, the classroom and his bedroom. Wait a moment, Minerva. Let me try to contact Severus through a Patronus first," the Headmaster decided, and a white phoenix quickly disappeared into thin air.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments! _


	7. Awakening

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**7 – Awakening**

_~ Chamber of Secrets ~_

Severus Snape carefully took enough of the venom that remained in the fangs of the basilisk's cadaver to brew the antidote for Harry.

"Use my personal lab for the potion. You find all the ingredients you need there, and they're under an everlasting refreshment charm, so that they still should be all right," Salazar offered, causing the younger Potions Master to give him a surprised look.

"I accept the offer. Where will I find your personal lab?" he queried, his voice laced with unusual excitement. Five minutes later, Severus was standing in a fully equipped Potions laboratory that was obviously under a self modernising charm and held about twice the size of his own private lab. '_This room is absolutely gorgeous_,' he thought, stopping dead in his tracks for an instant, before he reminded himself that the life of a small boy depended on how fast he was able to administer the antidote.

Half-way through the brewing process, a Patronus from the Headmaster arrived, but Severus didn't even bother to send a message back. '_I can't pity you for worrying over the boy_,' he thought in annoyance. '_Apparently, his home is as abusive as mine was, and you still sent him back every year_.'

_~ Helga's living room ~_

While the Potions Master was hurrying to finish the antidote as quickly as possible, Madam Pomfrey was fighting for Harry's life. The boy's fever had risen to dangerous heights, and he was in so much pain that she had already given him twice the amount of pain relieving potion that she would normally administer to a child of his size and age.

'_Thank God Helga and Salazar are here, even if they're only portraits_,' she thought, glad to be able to share her concern and her thoughts about what to do to save the child's life. '_I just hope Severus will return on time_,' she mused, sighing in relief when the Potions Master swiftly strode into the room in a speed that was even rapid for the tall man.

"Poppy, I need your help. We can't spell the antidote into his system using magic. He has to swallow it," Severus said urgently.

Pomfrey gently lifted the unconscious boy's head just enough for the Potions Master to pour the liquid from the phial into Harry's half-open mouth. Severus gently massaged the boy's throat, making him swallow the poisonous yet life-saving potion.

"Thank you Severus," Poppy whispered, gently lowering the boy's head back onto the pillow. She grabbed her wand and cast a series of spells, sighing in relief upon confirming that he was not in danger anymore. "You saved his life, Severus. Go to bed now; I will stay with him until he is completely well. Please don't tell Albus that Harry is here."

"I received a Patronus from him," Severus only now remembered.

"I don't care," the Healer replied in an uncharacteristically angry tone. "Harry has clearly been abused; you should know all about that."

"I know, and I won't give him out to Albus," Severus promised grimly. "I'll be back in a few hours." With that he replaced Salazar's mini portrait into the bookshelf and strode back to the dungeons.

~ _The Dursleys' residence_ ~

If anyone at Privet drive was awake at five o'clock on this summer morning, they might have been surprised to see a goat, accompanied by a tabby cat, run along the street and turn left into the Dursleys' garden.

Behind the garage, the goat changed into an old man with a long, white beard and opened the back door with a flick of his wand, allowing the cat to enter the house.

Remaining in her cat form, Professor McGonagall searched the whole house for Harry, just like her younger colleague had already done a few hours earlier. Twenty minutes later, she returned into the garden, sadly shaking her head at the goat. Together, the two animals walked back to the nearby house of Mrs. Figg, who didn't even wake up when the two teachers stepped into the fireplace to return to Hogwarts.

"I wonder what happened to Harry and why Severus didn't reply to my Patronus," the Headmaster said grimly, noticing in surprise that the alarm had stopped in the meantime.

"Can it be that Severus took Harry somewhere upon realising that his life was in danger?" McGonagall asked thoughtfully, causing the Headmaster to snort.

"Do you really believe that Severus would do anything for a Potter?" he replied in disbelief.

"Well, since Harry seems to be all right now, I suggest that we go back to bed and hope that everything will clear up in the morning," McGonagall said softly. "I'll see you in a few hours at breakfast."

"Good night, Minerva," the Headmaster replied, sighing in defeat as he stepped around the desk to pet his phoenix. "I don't like being completely clueless; what do you think, Fawkes?" he said softly, but Fawkes only gave back a few sleepy trills.

_Helga's living room ~_

Harry's mind slowly turned back to awareness. He felt extremely tired but not sick anymore. When he lazily opened his eyes, he noticed that sunshine was flooding the room and that Madam Pomfrey was asleep in the seat next to his bed. '_She must have transfigured the sofa to a bed_,' he realised, recalling that the Healer had been with him during the night and had tried to help him feel better. '_Why is she still here?_' he wondered and sat up to look at the portrait that was strangely quiet.

"Harry," Madam Pomfrey said, jerking awake as he moved. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Harry replied in confusion. "What happened? I remember that I felt awful during the night, but I'm completely fine now."

Pomfrey quickly pointed her wand at his forehead, nodding contentedly. "Harry, do you remember that Professor Snape was here?"

"Snape?" Harry asked in shock. "Oh no, he will have told the Headmaster that I'm here," he said, lying back in resignation.

"No, Mr. Potter," the Potions Master threw in, sweeping into the room. "On the contrary. Because I did not inform the Headmaster, he and Professor McGonagall travelled to your home to check on you early this morning."

"They WHAT?" Madam Pomfrey gasped, chuckling.

"Exactly," Severus smirked. "Mr. Potter, you were suffering from basilisk poison. You can be very glad that you were here at Hogwarts, where we were able to help you on time."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry replied in disbelief. "But I don't understand... Fawkes healed me after I was bitten by the basilisk."

The Potions Master let out a long sigh. "Apparently, there was still venom left that slowly spread in your blood stream and made you so ill. You couldn't have chosen a better place to stay during this summer than here, where I had access to more basilisk venom in order to brew the antidote."

"Thank you for saving my life, sir," Harry replied, feeling very uncomfortable at the thought.

"You're welcome, Mr. Potter," Severus replied thoughtfully. "Now we have to decide on what we're going to tell the Headmaster."

"Dumbledore?" Harry asked, terrified. "Professor, please don't tell the Headmaster. I promise that I'll stay here within these rooms and won't bother anyone, but please don't tell him. Otherwise, he'll send me back to that place."

"Mr. Potter, don't make yourself so upset," Pomfrey spoke up in a stern voice.

"We have to give the Headmaster an explanation. He went to look for you and didn't find you. Do you believe he will calmly sit in his office, eat lemon drops, pet his bird and wait for you to come back on the first of September, after an alarm in his office alerted him to the fact that you were about to die early this morning?" Severus sneered, causing Harry to throw him a horrified look.

"He would," Madam Pomfrey mumbled in a barely audible voice, "but Minerva wouldn't. I know how much she hates leaving Harry at his relatives' house. I'm sure it was her to convince Albus to go and check on Harry when you didn't come back during the night."

"You better stop the hide and seek play at this stage," Salazar threw in from the painting. "Tell Dumbledore the truth."

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments that made my muse continue so fast!_


	8. Awareness

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**8 – Awareness**

"The truth?" Harry asked horrified. "No..."

"Be quiet for a moment, Mr. Potter," Severus said sternly, raising an eyebrow at the Founder of his House.

"He can't send Harry away from here," Salazar growled. "Point one: Although the basilisk venom is gone by now, it remained in his body for several months. Therefore, it had enough time to damage his immune system and other parts of his body. I knew two cases in my time, and both persons used to became sick every now and then after their poisoning. Therefore, he has to stay at a place where he can require medical help at any time. Don't you agree, Helga?"

"I agree completely," Helga replied, smiling at her husband.

"Point two: The boy was abused by his relatives, and no child should be abused in his own home. He is my many times great grandson, and I insist that he remains here. Hogwarts is his rightful home."

"I understand, sir," Severus replied. "However, the Headmaster will demand that the boy stays with a relative, who is alive. Apparently, he has set up blood wards in the assumption that his aunt's blood would save him from danger due to her relationship with his mother."

"Rubbish," Salazar barked. "Point three: You are his uncle. Feel free to make a blood test if you don't believe me. You are related to me as well as to him and his mother. There is no reason why you couldn't become his guardian. You wouldn't even have to take him in, because he can stay here in his own quarters. And now go and tell the Headmaster to let go of Harry and let him live his own life."

Severus turned to Helga. "Professor Hufflepuff, are you sure that your husband is not delirious?"

Helga chuckled, playfully placing her hand on Salazar's forehead, before he slapped it away in annoyance. "He doesn't have a fever," she said to Severus, "and I know for a fact that everything he explained is true."

"Potter and I are related?" Severus asked incredulously, glancing at Madam Pomfrey.

"If I understood it correctly, you are not related to James Potter, but to Harry through his mother Lily," Poppy replied gently. "Why don't you just take a drop of blood and perform the test?"

"Very well. If you don't mind, Mr. Potter," he said, turning to Harry, who had followed the conversation with interest.

"Of course not," Harry replied quickly.

Severus magically retrieved one drop of blood from the boy and excused himself. "I'll do the test and then go to speak with the Headmaster."

"I'll go and visit my portrait in Dumbledore's office," Godric suddenly spoke up, causing everyone to look at him in surprise. So far, he had been slumped in his seat as if he was fast asleep. "Just in case you need my support."

"Severus, I'm going to join you as well," Pomfrey said thoughtfully. "We're going to take Salazar's mini portrait with us. Helga, if Harry has any problems, call me immediately please."

"Of course," the Founder promised, smiling.

Severus gratefully inclined his head and left Helga's quarters together with Madam Pomfrey.

_~ Headmaster's office ~_

"Albus, what exactly did Severus say?" McGonagall queried, glaring at the Headmaster, who was calmly sitting behind his desk, slowly unwrapping a lemon drop.

"Minerva, I already told you that Severus was still asleep when I entered his quarters. He said he'd come here and speak with us as soon as he was dressed and ready. You're worrying too much. Of course I also want to know where Harry is, but Severus probably doesn't know anyway, and at least the alarm has stopped several hours ago," Dumbledore replied calmingly.

"Excuse me, Albus, but of course I'm worried about the child," McGonagall replied in a very angry tone. "Lily was like a daughter to me, and do you remember how often I babysat Harry when he was a baby? Ten long years I was concerned about him, and now that he is finally old enough to attend Hogwarts, you make him go back to that place every summer. Albus, I'm sure that they don't treat him well. Look at him. Did you notice how small he is? And how thin he was when he returned after the last summer? Poppy spoke with you about the matter, didn't she?"

"Please don't shout, Minerva," Professor Dippet threw in from his portrait, covering his ears with his hands.

"Oh, but I believe that she has every reason to shout at the current Headmaster," Godric Gryffindor spoke up, causing McGonagall and Dumbledore to turn their heads in surprise at the sight of two Godrics in one painting.

Just an instant later, Severus stepped out of the fireplace, closely followed by Madam Pomfrey. "Good morning, Minerva, Albus. I'm sorry for the delay," Severus greeted his colleagues and explained the truth about what had happened during the night.

"Harry is here at Hogwarts?" Dumbledore queried in surprise. "Where is he?"

"Albus, leave the child in peace. Thank God he was here, so that Severus was able to help him," McGonagall replied in an upset voice.

"Severus saved his life, Albus," Pomfrey pointed out. "If he had returned to the Dursleys, he wouldn't have survived the night."

"Albus," Severus began to speak calmly, "I want to become the boy's guardian. Through his mother, who is a direct descendant of Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin, I am related to Mr. Potter and I can provide the same blood connection as Petunia Dursley." He quietly placed a parchment in front of the Headmaster that showed the exact relationship of Harry, himself and the Founders.

"Harry is the heir of all four Founders?" Dumbledore realised in surprise. "Where did he spend the last weeks by the way?"

Salazar suddenly began to speak from the mini portrait in Madam Pomfrey's robe pocket. "Poppy, take me out of here," the Founder demanded grumpily, causing the Healer to chuckle and pull the portrait out, holding it so that Salazar faced the Headmaster. "Thankfully, Harry found my wife's quarters and wisely decided to spend his holidays there, where no one can find him, because no one is able to enter her quarters without a direct invitation. Since Harry is our heir, he is the rightful owner of Hogwarts, and no one, not even the Headmaster, can throw him out of his home. I strongly suggest that you accept Professor Snape's offer to become the boy's guardian." He looked at the Gryffindor Head. "Professor McGonagall, my wife instructed me to tell you that you're welcome to visit your little lion at any time."

While McGonagall thanked the Founder profusely, Professor Dumbledore slumped down in his seat with an expression of defeat on his face that all of a sudden looked old and wrinkled, and his eyes were void of his usual twinkle.

"Minerva, are you willing to take over my position and become Headmistress?" he asked tiredly. "I wish to retire. I am too old for this post. I wanted to remain here to help Harry achieve his full potential in order to fulfil his destiny. However, I see now that he is in good hands and I'm not needed anymore."

"A very wise decision," Godric Gryffindor commented, glancing at the Gryffindor Head of House. "As much as I loved you as Head of my House, you'll make a brilliant Headmistress."

McGonagall looked around in shock. "No Albus; we still need you. Please..." She interrupted herself when Helga Hufflepuff suddenly appeared in Salazar's mini portrait.

The ancient Haler pushed Salazar to the side and said urgently, "Poppy, please come to my quarters and check on Harry. I think that he is not well."

"Of course," Pomfrey replied sternly and hurriedly left the room with the Potions Master on her heals.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments!_


	9. Decisions

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**9 – Decisions**

_~ Helga's living room ~_

When Pomfrey and Snape entered Helga's living room, Harry was thrashing around, mumbling incoherently. The Healer calmly laid a hand on his shoulder, causing the boy to flinch. "Mr. Potter, wake up. It's only a nightmare," Poppy said softly, not surprised by his reaction. "You're safe and sound at Hogwarts, and your uncle won't be able to come here."

Harry finally stirred and slowly opened his eyes, which were still glazed over. "Sorry," he mumbled sleepily.

"That's all right, Mr. Potter." The Healer quickly laid a cold hand on Harry's forehead, before she turned to the Potions Master. "He is still running a fever."

"Probably the after effect of the antidote," Snape replied thoughtfully. "Are you feeling nauseous, Mr. Potter?"

"A little," Harry admitted in a small voice and gratefully nodded when the teacher conjured a basket, placing it next to the bed.

Severus pulled a small phial out of his robe pocket. "For once I will give you a dreamless sleep potion. This should make you sleep until the after effects are completely gone. In the meantime, I will return to the Headmaster's office."

"Does he know?" Harry asked, looking at the professor.

"Yes, he knows, and he is also aware of the fact that he can't do anything about it, because Professor McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey and the four Founders are all on our side. As the heir of the four Founders, you are the owner of Hogwarts, and he can't throw you out. Don't worry, Harry. Everything will be all right."

"Thank you, sir," Harry mumbled, before he succumbed to the potion and drifted off to sleep.

_~ Headmaster's office ~_

In the meantime, Professor McGonagall had called the two other Heads of House and explained the matter to them.

"I think it would be the correct reaction if Albus retired," Professor Sprout said firmly. "He was the one who sent the boy back to his abusive home, completely ignoring the protests of all of us. Each of us was willing to take the child in, but..."

"I'm sorry, Pomona, but I won't be able to fulfil the positions of a Headmistress and that of the Gryffindor Head at once," McGonagall interrupted her colleague, throwing a beseeching look at the Potions Master.

"Is there no one else, who could take over the Head of House position?" Severus asked monotonously.

"Remus Lupin," Dumbledore threw in tiredly. "Maybe the Head of House position could even help keeping him on the Defence Against the Dark Arts post for more than a year."

"A werewolf as Head of House?" Severus asked incredulously. "It's bad enough that you hired him at all, but as a Head of House he would endanger the students even more."

"Poppy, take me out of here," Salazar's voice could be heard, and several of the professors laughed, when Madam Pomfrey once more pulled the mini portrait out of her robe pocket. "Severus, do you remember that I promised you the recipe for the wolfscure potion under the condition that you behaved towards Harry?" he sneered. "Considering that you're willing to become the child's guardian, I'd say you fulfilled the condition. The recipe is written in Parselscript, but Harry has already translated more than one of my books, and he'll continue as soon as he feels better. If you ask him nicely to translate the wolfscure potion first, I'm sure he'll comply."

"The wolfscure potion?" Severus asked incredulously. "There is a potion for lycanthropy?"

"Yes my boy, and since it's my invention, I don't mind if you sell it as your own and earn a lot of money with it," Salazar growled, smirking.

"He might receive the Order of Merlin if he presents a cure for lycanthropy," Poppy threw in.

"Very well then. I'm going to leave," Dumbledore said, rising from his seat. "By the evening, I will have vacated my personal quarters. Good luck, Minerva." With that he stepped onto the moving staircase that led to his private rooms, only looking back once. "Fawkes?" he queried, holding out his arm.

#I'm going to remain at Hogwarts. Harry might need me,# Fawkes trilled, only to add, #Can you please translate for them?#

Dumbledore let out a long sigh. "Fawkes told me that he is going to become Harry's familiar from now on." With that he turned around and left.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Professor McGonagall sighed. "Severus, will you agree to become my Deputy Headmaster?"

The Potions Master bowed slightly. "If you deem me adequate for the position, I will," he replied firmly.

"Thank you, Severus. Please speak with Harry about the potions recipe and brew a dose for Remus. I will contact him and ask him to come to Hogwarts right away and not only in two weeks' time. Pomona, Filius, thank you so much for your support." She looked up to the wall behind the desk, where a portrait of Albus Dumbledore popped into existence next to the portraits of the former Headmasters.

"Severus, contact me if you need help with the guardianship matter. Will you ask the house-elves to make a room for Harry in your quarters?"

Severus thoughtfully pushed an errand strand of hair from his face. "I believe it would suffice to add a connecting door from my living room to that of Professor Hufflepuff and allow the boy to remain in the quarters he has chosen for himself. What do you think, Professor Slytherin?"

"Feel free to call me grandfather, my boy," Salazar replied, smirking. "I believe that would be in Harry's interests."

"If you would excuse me now," Severus said, turning back to McGonagall. "I need to pay the Dursleys a visit and make them sign over the guardianship."

_~ Helga's living room ~_

When Harry woke up, it was already dark. Only a few torches at one side of the room were lit. '_Oh thank God, I'm feeling so much better_,' he realised as he slowly stretched his arms and legs and sat up.

#Hello nestling,# a trill suddenly penetrated his ears, causing Harry to look around in confusion.

'_That sounds like Fawkes_,' he thought, only now realising that the beautiful phoenix was sitting on a perch at the foot end of the bed turned sofa. "Hello Fawkes. What are you doing here?"

#I chose to become your familiar. The old grumpy one retired, and I figured that you might need my help more than him,# Fawkes trilled happily.

"You... my familiar?" Harry stammered in surprise, just when Professor Snape entered the room through a new door that had appeared just opposite of the door to Harry's bedroom. "Good evening, Professor Snape," he greeted the man.

"Considering that I'm not only your uncle but also your guardian, you may call me by my given name, even if only during the holidays," the professor replied, raising an eyebrow. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," Harry replied gratefully. "Thank you so much for saving my life, sir."

"You're welcome, Harry. See to it that you don't need anyone to save your life in the future. Which means," he glared at the boy, "to follow the rules, come to me if you have problems and don't put yourself into danger anymore."

"I'll try," Harry replied sincerely, inwardly smiling broadly. '_It's great that finally everyone seems to have accepted that Hogwarts is my real home, and it's even better to have a guardian who is willing to help me and even save me if I need it_,' he thought happily, glancing at Fawkes, who was trilling soft melodies.

_tbc..._**  
**

_Thank you so much for your kind support! I appreciate it very much!_

_Originally, I planned to end this story at this point. However, I received so many threats and flames from my readers that I grudgingly decided to continue it ;-)  
_


	10. Nightly Brewing

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**10 – Nightly Brewing**

"Harry, if you're feeling well enough to get up, I suggest that you get dressed and follow me to the Headmistress' office for tea. Due to our discussions with Professor Dumbledore we all missed dinner, and Professor McGonagall invited us for tea. I merely came to fetch you."

"All right, sir," Harry replied, feeling very confused. He hurried into his own room and quickly changed into fresh school clothes, before he returned to the living room and followed his new guardian through the empty castle.

"Leaving my quarters through your living room seems like a good shortcut," Severus said, smirking.

_~ Headm__istress' office ~_

"Feel free to cross my living room at any time," Harry laughed but quietened immediately when they reached the office, realising how many people were assembled there. Not only all four Heads of House, but also Madam Pomfrey and an unknown man were gathered around a table, apparently waiting for them. With even greater surprise, he eyed Professor Dumbledore's portrait behind the desk.

"Congratulations Professor for becoming Headmistress," Harry said in a small voice. '_I'd have preferred to keep her as Head of House though_,' he thought, while he absentmindedly greeted the other professors, unaware of the concerned looks he received from everyone.

"Harry, this is Professor Remus Lupin," McGonagall finally introduced the man. "He is our new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and Head of Gryffindor."

Harry looked up in surprise, finding the man smiling broadly at him. "Hello Harry," Lupin said gently, "I'm glad to meet you. Your parents were good friends of mine."

"My parents?" Harry gasped, looking at the new teacher in amazement, before suddenly tea appeared on the table.

"Remus, do you mind us speaking about your problem in front of Harry?" McGonagall queried.

"Not at all, provided that he promises to keep it for himself," Lupin said, and Harry noticed that he was slightly hesitant.

"I promise," he quickly reassured the man. '_He looks really nice, and having a friend of my parents here is absolutely cool_,' he mused and listened with interest when the Headmistress explained that he was translating Salazar Slytherin's potions recipes and that among them there was a cure for lycanthropy.

"I can't promise you that it'll work, but I believe that it is worth a try," she ended her explanation, looking questioningly at her former student.

"Of course it works," Salazar hissed from Godric's portrait, in which all the four Founders were assembled. "Be careful what you say about my work, new Headmistress."

"Oh just shut up," Godric reprimanded him, causing everyone to look at the portrait in surprise.

Harry rolled his eyes. "The two of them are fighting the whole time, and their wives are always busy scolding them. They never stay quiet for long," he chuckled.

"Harry, please don't forget to eat. You haven't eaten anything today," Madam Pomfrey said reprimanding, and Harry suddenly realised that he felt famished.

_~ Helga's living room ~_

When Harry returned to his rooms later on, he stood in front of the Founders' painting. "Salazar, please tell me where I can find the potion they were talking about, and what is lycanthropy?"

"The new professor is a werewolf," Salazar informed him, "and the recipe for the wolfscure potion is in book 36 of my recipe collections. I believe that you brought it with you the other day."

Harry quickly skimmed the books. '_Oh right, this one is number 36_,' he realised in relief and sat in his favourite armchair to search for the wolfscure.

"It's on page 53," Salazar supplied helpfully.

"Oh thank you so much, Salazar," Harry said gratefully, smiling at the ancient Potions Master. He pulled his quill and parchments over and began to translate. '_Wow; this seems to be fairly difficult_,' he thought, considering how many steps of brewing were needed to complete the potion. From time to time there were ingredients of which he didn't know how to translate them, but Salazar kindly explained everything that Harry didn't understand, and it was three o'clock in the morning, when Harry finally finished his translation.

"Go and take it to Severus. He is still in his office," Salazar suggested.

Harry vehemently shook his head. "I certainly won't go into his quarters uninvited, especially not at three o'clock in the morning," he said firmly, unaware of the fact that Salazar's portrait at the entrance to the Potions Master's quarters had already alerted Severus that he was needed in Harry's room. "He'd take points from Gryffindor, before the school year has even started, and I'd receive detention until after my NEWTs."

"We can easily arrange that, Harry," suddenly a baritone voice penetrated his ears, causing Harry to look around in shock.

'_Why does he always have to sneak up on me?_' he thought in exasperation. "I finished translating the recipe, sir."

"Show it to me," Severus demanded, reaching for the parchment.

"Severus, when exactly is the full moon?" Salazar queried, raising an eyebrow at the younger Potions Master.

"In three days' time."

"Well, go on and brew it then. It must be taken between ten and three days before the full moon," the Founder informed him, smirking.

"How long will it take me to brew?"

"Five hours; maybe three or three and a half if Harry assists."

"If Harry assists?" Severus repeated in disbelief. "Salazar, do you know how much of a dunderhead your heir is when it comes to Potions?" he sneered.

"That's only because you never explain anything," Harry spoke up heatedly. "But Salazar taught me many things over the last weeks, and I think I might be well able to help. If you tell me exactly what to do and how to do it, I should be able to follow your instructions."

"Very well then, are you up to assist during the next three hours? Do you know what time it is?"

"Of course I know that, but since I slept through the last few days and nights, I'm fully awake," Harry replied and eagerly followed the Potions Master into his private potions lab, where they busied themselves with the wolfscure potion for the next few hours.

_~ Severus Snape's quarters ~_

"Do you think this will really work, sir?" Harry asked hesitantly when Severus filled a huge goblet with the dark green liquid and placed the rest of the potion under a stasis charm.

"Salazar Slytherin is the best Potions Master of all times," Severus replied tiredly. "Of course I don't know if your translation was correct and absolutely exact."

"That's true," Harry admitted in a small voice, unaware of the shocked glance the professor threw him upon noticing that he had apparently misunderstood his small joke.

'_We'll have to address the topic of what his relatives did to him at a later time_,' Severus mused and called his house-elf. "Cicero, please go and wake up Professor Lupin. Tell him to come to my office immediately."

"Of course, Master Severus. It's only half past six in the morning though." Cicero looked questioningly at the Potions Master.

"I don't care. It's important that he takes this potion NOW," Severus replied in irritation. As soon as Cicero popped away, he motioned for Harry to follow him into his office. '_Better to have a witness who knows that I didn't want to kill Lupin in case something is wrong with the potion_,' he thought, feeling slightly impressed at how proficiently Harry had helped him prepare the ingredients. "You did that very well tonight, Harry," he hesitantly commended the boy.

"Thank you, sir," Harry replied in a small voice, looking up in surprise.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Ten minutes later, Lupin knocked at the door to Severus' office. Severus quickly explained that he urgently had to take the potion if he didn't want to wait for a full month. "As you might understand, I have not been able to test this potion. Harry and I brewed it according to Salazar's recipe; however, we can't guarantee that it works, and we don't know what problems it might cause. Are you sure that you want to take this potion?" he asked sternly.

"Severus, I know that you despise me, but I still trust you," Lupin replied calmly and gulped down the potion. He placed the empty goblet back on the table, before he suddenly gripped his stomach, and his features changed to a painful expression.

_tbc..._

_Thank you for your kind comments, threats and flames that made me (grudgingly) continue this story ;-)_


	11. Birthday

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**11 – Birthday**

"Professor Lupin, are you all right?" Harry asked in concern.

"Don't get sick on us and waste our potion," Severus warned, looking worriedly at his former classmate.

"I don't think I'll get sick," Lupin said slowly. "I seem to have some kind of stomach bug. I already didn't feel too well yesterday, but I didn't get sick yet, and I'm definitely not going to waste your potion. Thank you so much, Severus and Harry, for doing this for me."

"You still need to spend the night of the full moon in the Shrieking Shack. As I said we can't guarantee that it works," Severus said sternly. "Now if you could excuse us from breakfast please. We need to catch up on some sleep."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Harry slept until Severus woke him up in time for dinner. The Potions Master carefully knocked at the door to Harry's room to give the boy some distance in case he wasn't ready to have him enter his room, considering their former unpleasant relationship. Harry quickly scrambled out of his bed and threw his guardian a grateful look when the professor waved his wand and magically transfigured his pyjamas into black trousers and a dark green jumper.

"Thank you, sir," Harry said as he pulled his robes over and followed the professor out of his quarters. "Um… excuse me, sir," he hesitantly began to ask when they strode through the corridors to the Great Hall, "am I allowed to tell my best friends that I'm living at Hogwarts and you are my guardian now?"

Severus let out a long sigh. "Harry, it's up to you if you tell your friends. However, I suggest that you ask them to keep both matters for themselves. Your House mates probably won't like to hear that I am your guardian, and it might be safer for you if no one knew that you are the heir of all four Founders," he said thoughtfully. "Why don't you invite your best friends for your birthday?"

"My birthday, sir?" Harry blurted out in surprise, causing the Potions Master to smirk. "I'm sorry, sir, but I completely lost track of time…"

"Today is the thirtieth of July," Severus informed him and raised an eyebrow at the boy as he held the door to the Great Hall open for him.

'_Tomorrow is my birthday_,' Harry realised. '_Did he suggest that I invite my friends here? But tomorrow? Will Hedwig even manage to deliver the letters on time?_'

"You could write a letter after dinner and ask Fawkes to take it to Granger and Weasley," Severus suggested, interpreting Harry's silence correctly.

"Oh no, they're not at home," Harry suddenly remembered. "Ron is in Egypt and Hermione in France."

"And why would that be a problem?" Severus queried. "I can make two Portkeys, which you can attach to your letters, so that your friends can come here in the morning, if that's what you want."

"Yes sir. Thank you so much," Harry said, sighing happily as he hesitantly sat between Severus and Poppy.

"Where is Lupin?" Severus asked, glancing at the Healer in concern.

"He is sick with the stomach flu," Pomfrey replied, sighing. "I just hope that the potions I had to give him won't interfere with your potion. According to Salazar it shouldn't be a problem, but of course he didn't use exactly the same potions for the stomach flu in the past."

_~ Harry's rooms ~_

Harry couldn't wait to return to his room and write his letters to his friends.

'_Dear Hermione, hi Ron,_

_I'd like you to come to visit me tomorrow for a few hours. I have much to tell you. This parchment is a Portkey, which will activate automatically at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. I hope that you'll be able to come, because I have to tell you very important things._

_Harry_'

'_I think that'll do_,' he thought as he hesitantly entered Severus' living room to ask for the Portkeys.

The professor took the first of the parchments, pointed his wand at it and uttered a long incantation in Latin, before he repeated the process with the second parchment.

"Very well then; hand them to Fawkes and instructed him to wait for a reply."

"Yes sir. Thank you, sir," Harry replied gratefully and returned to his rooms to send Fawkes to Hermione and Ron. To his surprise, the phoenix returned shortly later with two small parchments in his beak. '_They're both going to come here tomorrow_,' he thought happily as he pondered how far he should tell them the truth. '_I'll just tell them everything_,' he finally decided. '_I just hope that Ron will take the news about Snape being my uncle and my new guardian well. Oh well, at least Hermione will be happy for me_.' With that relieving thought he went to bed, noticing that he felt strangely tired in spite of having slept through the day.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

At exactly ten o'clock in the morning, Hermione and Ron arrived in the Great Hall, where Harry was eagerly waiting for them, still sitting at the breakfast table together with the teachers. Earlier, a huge birthday cake in form of a miniature Hogwarts had appeared on the table. It was decorated with thirteen candles, and the Headmistress had instructed him gently to extinguish them.

"Good morning Harry, Professors," Hermione said in surprise, before she pulled Harry in a gentle hug.

"Hi Mione," Harry replied smiling.

"Happy Birthday, Harry. How are you doing?" Hermione asked in concern, handing him a present that looked like a very thick book.

"Hi mate. Why are we at Hogwarts?" Ron queried as he pulled a number of smaller presents out of his robe pockets, quickly pointing out from whom they were.

"Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall greeted her students. "Why don't you take a seat and have some birthday cake? Afterwards, Harry can explain everything to you."

_~ Harry's rooms ~_

After Ron admitted that he was full after eating the whole Transfiguration classroom, which equalled three huge pieces of cake, Harry led his friends to Helga's quarters and motioned for them to sit on the sofa in the living room.

"Is that a picture of the Founders?" Hermione queried, eyeing the painting with interest. "Harry, where are we?"

Harry sighed, before he hesitantly began to explain how he had returned to Hogwarts at the beginning of the holidays. He told his friends about the Founders and how he had found out that he was the heir of all four of them.

"Wow, that's cool, mate," Ron blurted out. "I just wonder why all these things always happen to you."

"That is because he is Harry, the many times great grandchild of the Founders. It is not as if Harry did have a choice on this," Hermione slightly reprimanded her friend.

'_I certainly didn't_,' Harry mused as he summoned his courage to admit to his friends that he was even related to Severus Snape, who had saved his life and had become his new guardian.

"That evil git is your guardian? Didn't you have anything to say about that? My mother often enough offered to Dumbledore to become your guardian," Ron said heatedly.

"My only other choice was to return to the Dursleys," Harry replied in a small voice, looking sadly at Hermione. '_I knew that Ron wouldn't understand_,' he thought forlornly.

"Harry, I am very happy for you. Professor Snape will be a much better guardian than the Dursleys," Hermione said warmly. "And it's great that you have your own quarters at Hogwarts and are able to stay here all year. Congratulations, Harry."

"Thank you," Harry said gratefully, smiling at the girl's kind words.

For the rest of the day, the three friends evaded any conversation concerning guardianship or living conditions at Hogwarts. However, it didn't go unnoticed by Harry that his supposed to be best friend kept shooting him strange looks, and he inwardly sighed in relief when Fawkes flashed his friends back to their families after dinner.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

When Harry returned to his own room, profusely thanking Dobby for taking the huge pile of presents, which he had received from his friends and the teachers, to his room, he noticed that he wasn't feeling overly well. '_It's probably just that I'm disappointed about Ron's reaction_,' he thought and resolved to go to bed early.

However, during the night, he realised soon that his friend's behaviour was not the only reason why he felt sick. His stomach and his head began to hurt terribly, and at two o'clock in the morning he had to run to the bathroom, because his stomach wanted to get rid of its content. By the time Harry returned to his bedroom, he felt utterly miserable. His ears were strangely clogged, he felt dizzy, and his was shivering violently in spite of the sweat that was building on his forehead.

He grudgingly obeyed when Helga called him over to the living room. "Are you all right, little one? You don't look well," she asked, eyeing him in concern.

"Of course, I'm fine," Harry replied warily and slowly returned to his bed, only to have to run to the bathroom again twenty minutes later.

A while later Harry had just scrambled back under his covers, when Severus entered the room. "Harry, are you ill?" he asked in his soft, baritone voice. "Salazar told me that you had to throw up a few times."

Feeling too bad to hide from his guardian how miserable he felt, Harry merely said, "I don't feel so good, sir."

Severus carefully laid a cold hand on Harry's forehead. "You're burning up," he said in concern and pulled his wand to conjure a thermometer. "Maybe you caught the stomach flu from Professor Lupin," he said thoughtfully as he coaxed the glassy device under Harry's tongue, summoning two phials from his quarters while they were waiting for the reading to take place. "39.3," he read, sighing, and made Harry drink the two potions, before he conjured a bucket, which he placed next to the bed.

"Pfessor, is it somow possible to obliviate Ron?" Harry asked, slightly slurring the words, before he leaned over the bucket to empty his stomach again.

"Well see," Severus replied, glancing at the glassy green eyes that looked at him in desperation. "Try to sleep, Harry. I'll be back shortly. Fawkes, could you please take me to Ronald Weasley," he asked the phoenix, muttering something to himself that sounded like "Making the dunderhead see reason or hex him into the next millennium."

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments and sorry for the delay. I wrote this chapter while taking care of a sick child during the night. I'm sorry if there are more mistakes than usual..._


	12. Severus' Busy Day

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**12 – Severus' Busy Day  
**

Fawkes and Severus arrived in a room that somehow looked like a dormitory with five beds. Before he could even wonder which of the red heads was the youngest, the five boys lazily sat up, having woken up by Fawkes' bright flash of fire and his soft trills.

"Good morning boys. I'm sorry to disturb you," Severus said firmly. "However, there is something urgent that I need to discuss with Ronald Weasley."

The five boys hurriedly scrambled out of their beds and gathered around the professor. "Mr. Weasley, there is no need for you to hide behind your twin brothers. I merely want to know what happened between you and my ward this afternoon," Severus sneered.

"Your ward?" the twins blurted out simultaneously.

"By chance we found out that Harry Potter and I are related, and I gained the guardianship over him to prevent him from returning to his atrocious relatives," Severus explained in a bored tone.

"You took him away…"

"… from the awful Dursleys?"

"Thank you, Professor…"

"…That was the best thing you could do," the twins cheered in excitement, causing the edges of Severus' mouth to pull upwards.

"But that's not all," Ron threw in hastily. "He, who already saved the Philosopher's stone, killed the basilisk and is the boy who lived, is the heir of all four Founders of Hogwarts and has a professor as a guardian. What else does he need?"

"Ronald!" the twins and their older brother Charlie chided him sternly. "Do you always have to be jealous of everyone and everything?" Charlie asked reproachfully, before he turned to Severus. "I apologize for my younger brother's words, and I hope that he didn't say anything bad to Harry."

Severus let out a long sigh. "I don't know exactly what he said to Harry, because Harry became very ill during the night and is running a high fever. However, he was so much in distress about Ronald's behaviour that I decided to visit you at this time of the night. In fact Harry asked me to obliviate Ronald."

"Didn't you congratulate him…"

"… for finally getting away from that horrid family?" the twins asked in disbelief, glaring at their younger brother.

Ron mumbled a reply that sounded somehow like, "Don't think Snape is so much better."

"We are very sorry for our brother's behaviour, Professor. We're going to tell our mother about the matter, and she will have a stern talk with him," Percy finally spoke up as well.

"Very well, boys. Thank you for your understanding," Severus replied thoughtfully. "In fact, Harry doesn't want anyone else to know about all of this. Please keep the matter to yourselves. Now Ronald, if I get to know that you further insult Harry or that anyone at Hogwarts is talking about this, I will make you personally responsible, and you're going to serve detention until your OWLs."

"Yes sir," Ron replied, sounding very annoyed. "May we go back to sleep now?"

"Ron, behave yourself," Charlie said firmly. "It's bad enough for Professor Snape to have to come here because you hurt your supposed to be best friend by being a jealous git. Professor, please give Harry our apology and our regards and tell him we hope that he gets well soon."

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley," Severus replied in a much friendlier voice than that he had used while talking to Ron. "I'm sorry to have disturbed you all. Please give my apology to your mother."

"Professor, I am sure that our mother sees the matter in the same way as all of us. She will be very happy to see Harry in good hands," Percy replied firmly. "I'm sure that she will make Ronald apologise to Harry."

Severus slightly inclined his head, before he grabbed Fawkes' back feathers and flashed back to Hogwarts.

_~ Harry's rooms ~_

Severus quietly entered Harry's room in order not to disturb his ward; however, the boy was leaning over the bucket busily emptying the contents of his stomach, before he let go of the bucket and lay back with a long sigh.

"Harry," Severus asked quietly, taking in the boy's ashen face and the dark rings under his eyes. "Are you feeling any better?" He sat on the edge of the bed and gently felt Harry's forehead that was very hot.

"No. My ears feel strangely clogged, and I'm so dizzy," Harry admitted, and Severus realised that he had to feel absolutely miserable to admit as much to him.

Deciding that it was safer to take the boy's temperature under his armpit, Severus carefully pulled Harry's pyjama top down over his shoulder and coaxed the Muggle device into its place, noticing in concern that Harry didn't do as much as even opening his eyes at his touch, before he suddenly jerked away and began to plead, "No uncle, please don't hurt me. I promise I'll be good."

"Harry, it's Severus, and I only want to check your fever," he explained soothingly, sighing in relief as the boy calmed down visibly. Severus made sure that the thermometer was still in its place and gently bathed Harry's face with a cold towel, while they were waiting for the reading. "Your fever has gone up another degree," Severus said worriedly, glancing at his wrist watch. It was already seven o'clock in the morning. "I'm going to fetch Madam Pomfrey." Seeing that Harry didn't show any reaction, Severus hurried into the living room and instructed Helga to fetch the current Healer.

"He caught a very bad case of the grindylow's flu; the same kind that Remus came down with," Pomfrey diagnosed a few minutes later. "The poor child. Won't he ever get a rest?"

"Lupin?" Severus asked, alerted. "Will he be all right? The full moon is tonight."

Madam Pomfrey sighed. "I know and I'm a bit worried about him. We will have to take him to the Shrieking Shack in any case, but he is still running a high fever. Thank Merlin the vomiting has stopped by now. Severus, shall I take Harry with me to the hospital wing?"

Severus shook his head. "No, thank you Poppy. I treated Harry so badly during these two years. I really want to show him that I care for him and want to begin anew. Maybe this is the only chance I have."

Poppy smiled and gently patted her younger colleague's shoulder. "All right, Severus. You may do so; did you already take the preventive potion for the wizard's flu?"

The Potions Master quirked an eyebrow. "Do you believe I wanted to spend some quality time in your company? Of course I have taken the preventive potion. I shall accompany you tonight."

_~ Harry's Rooms_

Severus spent the whole day looking after Harry every now and then. In spite of the potions he gave him, the boy's fever remained very high and he seemed to feel miserable, even if the vomiting had stopped in the morning. So far, Harry hadn't asked about his conversation with Ron, and Severus decided to wait until Harry remembered to ask or his condition improved.

"Harry, I will be absent for a few hours, because I need to accompany Professor Lupin and Madam Pomfrey to the Shrieking Shack," he told him in the evening. "Today is the night of the full moon. I will take Professor Slytherin's mini portrait with me, and I'll leave that of Professor Hufflepuff here with you. Just tell her to fetch me in case you need me."

"All right; thank you, sir," Harry replied weakly. "Will Professor Lupin be all right?"

In an attempt to hide his own concern for his former classmate, Severus ran his hand through his silky hair, before he said quietly, "I hope that he won't transform. He is still very ill."

Harry suddenly cracked his eyes open and threw his guardian a terrified look from half-open glassy eyes. "Please sir, take Helga's portrait with you as well. She might be able to help in case something happens. I'm all right here and I could shout out to Rowena in case I urgently needed you, sir. Professor Lupin is in much more danger."

Knowing that he wouldn't remain in the Shack until his colleague possibly transformed anyway, Severus agreed and unobtrusively spelled a fever reducing potion that was laced with a sleeping draught into the boy's system.

_~ The Shrieking Shack_

When Severus arrived at the hospital wing, Pomfrey had already placed the werewolf onto a stretcher and was slowly floating him out of the room. Severus quietly followed the couple to the Shrieking Shack, trying to push any bad memories that tried to make their way to the front of his mind away. '_The house-elves must have cleaned here_,' he realised as he entered the small bedroom, where Pomfrey carefully made her sick colleague lie on the bed and gently tucked him in.

"Thank you, Poppy, Severus," Lupin said weakly. "Please go back to the castle. I'll be fine on my own. I don't think that I'll transform, even if I still can't believe it. I feel much better than I would shortly before the Transformation."

"Right, I suppose you feel wonderful, delirious as you are," Severus sneered. He unobtrusively slid Salazar's mini portrait into a small hole in the wall and cast an invisibility charm on the small frame, before he nodded at Pomfrey and said, "Well, let's return to the castle then. Lupin, we'll see you in the morning."

After a little more fussing over her sick colleague, Madam Pomfrey placed two phials on the night table. "In case you don't transform, please take these potions in about four hours or when you notice that your potions begin to wear off," she said softly, before she quickly followed Severus out of the Shrieking Shack, knowing that there was nothing she could do for the werewolf in case he transformed.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments!  
_


	13. The Cure

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**13 – The Cure**

When Severus returned to his quarters and checked on Harry, the boy was peacefully asleep. '_Well, I better get some sleep as well_,' he thought and placed Helga's mini portrait on Harry's night table, instructing the ancient Healer to wake him up if Salazar came with news about the werewolf or Harry needed him.

By the time Harry woke up and lazily opened his eyes, his guardian was fast asleep next to his bed in a comfortable looking armchair, into which he had transfigured the chair from his desk.

"Harry, congratulations; you managed to cure Professor Lupin from lycanthropy," Helga's mini portrait suddenly spoke up.

"Really?" Harry asked as he excitedly tried to sit up only to let himself sink back on his pillow in exhaustion.

"Yes, really," the Healer smirked, before her expression sobered. "You're not feeling better, are you?"

"Not really," Harry admitted in a low voice. "I'm so dizzy."

"I will fetch Poppy," Helga announced and vanished from the portrait, before Harry could find the energy to protest.

He drifted in and out of sleep, before he opened his eyes again, when he heard the voices of several people talk in the living room. '_Who is there?_' he wondered, when Madam Pomfrey entered his bedroom with the Headmistress in tow.

While the Healer eagerly began to cast spells at him, Professor McGonagall waved her wand at the Potions Master. "A silencing spell," she informed Harry, smiling. "If he can sleep with all the commotion here, he probably needs his sleep. Anyway, congratulations, Harry. You and Severus managed to brew the cure for lycanthropy."

"I'm glad that we could help Professor Lupin," Harry said, smiling at his former Head of House, before he profusely thanked the Healer as he felt the potions take effect, which she had just spelled into his stomach.

"I'm very happy for him as well," McGonagall said as she took a seat on the edge of his bed and reached for Harry's small, hot hand. "Professor Lupin deserves it. He is a very kind man, and he'll be a good Head of House for you. I'm glad that he finally agreed to become my successor this morning, knowing that he is finally cured."

"I thought he had already agreed last week?" Harry queried.

"Not officially. Only this morning," the professor said softly. "I have to thank you and Severus for that."

"I'm still going to miss you as Gryffindor Head," Harry replied in a soft voice.

"Thank you, Harry, but I'm still here, and you can come to me whenever you wish," the professor replied, gently squeezing his hand, just when Severus woke up.

"Did it work?" he asked urgently, causing his older colleague to grin.

"Good morning to you too, Severus. Yes, it worked. Now, there is something I need to speak with the two of you about." Seeing that Harry and Severus looked at her expectantly, she continued, "Unfortunately, Albus was awake in his portrait when Poppy came into my office to inform me earlier this morning, and he had nothing better to do than to contact the Ministry of Magic about your success. Anyway, the minister visited me shortly after. He wants to ask the two of you to brew as many doses as you can for the Ministry. They offer to pay you one thousand Galleons for each dose, and they will organise the distribution to the werewolves in coordination with St. Mungo's, where the potions will be administered. I told him that I had to ask you and promised to inform him about your reply later on. Oh and he promised to award both of you the Order of Merlin first class."

"No thanks!" Severus and Harry replied simultaneously, causing the Headmistress to roll her eyes.

"I don't have a problem brewing the potion in order to help the werewolves though," Harry added, grinning at his guardian. '_Maybe Madam Pomfrey was right and we're more alike than I thought_,' he thought, chuckling inwardly.

The Potions Master sighed. "Harry is very ill and will need at least three more days to recover and another three days before he will be in a condition to brew. After that we should be able to provide them with one or two batches a day during the remaining weeks of the holidays. After the beginning of the school year, we'll have to see if we have time at all."

"Maybe we could brew a few batches during the weekends," Harry suggested weakly.

"We'll see," Severus said firmly, giving him a sharp look.

"Poppy was here a few minutes ago," McGonagall informed him, pointing to the card on Harry's night table, on which the Healer used to make notes of her diagnostics.

Severus frowned as he closely studied the card. "I believe that we should continue this conversation when you feel better. Try to sleep for a while." Seeing that Harry felt obviously miserable enough to mumble his agreement and close his eyes, he quietly left the room together with his older colleague, motioning for her to follow him into the living room.

"Minerva, please inform the Minister that we'll brew the potions as soon as Harry's condition allows it. Of course I could begin with the brewing right away, but I have many potions to brew for the hospital wing, on which I'm going to concentrate in the meantime. Please also make clear that we are not going to participate into any festivities or whatever involving the Order of Merlin."

The Headmistress smirked. "I didn't expect either of you to enjoy the attention. Nevertheless, I hope that you will both accept the Order. Both of you deserve it, especially you, Severus."

The Potions Master raised an eyebrow. "Harry was the one who translated the recipe. If it wasn't…"

"You know that I don't mean the potion," McGonagall interrupted him firmly. "I mean your spying activities and everything you did for our side that has never been honoured in any way. Therefore, I'm very happy for you. I will inform the Minister of your plans. Thank you for agreeing to help the werewolves, Severus."

_Severus' quarters ~_

A week later, Severus finally deemed Harry well enough to assist him with the brewing of the wolfscure potion. To his surprise, he had to admit that Harry was indeed very adept at brewing. After the third day of brewing three batches of the potion each day, he waved his wand to clean their workspace, before he motioned for Harry to follow him into his living room. Sitting in his favourite armchair, he looked at the boy, who shifted in his seat and threw him an uncertain look.

"Harry," he began, sighing, "there is something that I need to tell you. In fact, I do not wish to speak about it; however, knowing that Lupin is going to become your Head of House…" He slowly trailed off.

Harry waited patiently, wondering what was wrong. "Excuse me, sir, did I understand correctly that Professor Lupin was your classmate while you were at Hogwarts?" he asked in a soft voice.

Severus ran a hand through his hair and let out another long sigh. "Harry, I'd like you to keep to yourself what I'm going to tell you."

"Of course," Harry replied softly.

"Your mother was my best friend; however, your father and his best friend were my worst enemies. They taunted me because of being a Slytherin," Severus said quickly. "They behaved towards me like Mr. Malfoy and his sidekicks behave towards you."

"Professor Lupin too?" Harry asked quietly.

"No. He belonged to your father's little group, but he didn't help Potter and Black to torture me. He didn't say anything against them or help me either though. Anyway, the reason why I told you this is that I want you to understand why I always behaved like I did towards you and why I won't tell you much about your father. However, I can tell you about your mother if you want me to do so."

"Severus, I understand, and if my father was a bully like Draco I don't think I'm so eager to hear much about him. So far, I only heard that he was good at Quidditch and such, or that I look like him. I'd be happy to hear about my mother though."

"Thank you for your understanding, Harry. Nevertheless, I suggest that you ask Professor Lupin to give you a better opinion of your father," Severus said gratefully and glanced at his wrist watch. "Shall we go and eat lunch at the Great Hall for once? Now that school is going to begin in two weeks' time, at least all the Heads of House and some of the other teachers must have returned from their holidays."

Harry agreed and followed his guardian through his own rooms to the Great Hall, deep in thoughts about what Severus had told him about his father. He was only pulled out of his musings when an owl flew down onto the table, holding out a foot to him. A red letter was attached, similar to the one that Ron had received at the beginning of their second Hogwarts year.

'_A Howler_,' Harry realised in shock as he hesitantly took the letter from the owl's foot.

_tbc..._

_Thank you very much for your kind comments - I really appreciate them, even if I wasn't able to reply to anything due to the annoyances of RL!_


	14. Dog and Rat Meals

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**14 – Dog and Rat Meals**

To Harry's surprise, Ron Weasley's voice screamed through the Great Hall as soon as he opened the red letter.

'HARRY POTTER. WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO GET MORE ATTENTION? THE ORDER OF MERLIN FOR HELPING THE GREASY GIT TO PREPARE SOME INGREDIENTS IN SPITE OF NOT BEING ABLE TO EVEN BREW A SIMPLE POTION ON YOUR OWN?  
THANKS FOR SENDING SNAPE TO OUR PLACE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. DUE TO THE THINGS MY BROTHERS TOLD MY PARENTS AFTER HIS VISIT, THEY DECIDED TO SEND ME TO DURMSTRANG FROM THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR ONWARDS.  
THANKS FOR BEING SUCH A GREAT FRIEND.'

Harry listened to the voice of his former best friend in disbelief. He still sat there in shock even minutes after the other boy's voice had completely faded, unaware of the concerned looks the teachers cast at him.

"Harry?" The Headmistress was the first who spoke up, pulling him out of his reverie.

"Yes," he replied, absentmindedly playing with his fork.

"This is not your fault, Harry, and the decision of sending Ronald to Durmstrang was made by his parents, his oldest brothers and himself two weeks ago. It has nothing to do with the Order of Merlin. This is just Ronald's jealousy speaking."

"Exactly," Severus threw in.

"But if..."

"No but if's, Harry," Professor Lupin spoke up in a soft voice. "Of course I don't know your friend, but from all I heard, you have been a good friend to him and even let him in on your secrets when he came here for your birthday. It is not your fault but his own."

"Thank you," Harry replied, giving his new Head of House a weak smile, before he turned to his guardian. "Professor Snape, is there anything I could do to convince his parents otherwise? Would it be possible to obliviate Ron for example?"

"Obliviating someone is very dangerous, Mr. Potter," Professor Flitwick threw in excitedly.

"I agree with Professor Flitwick, Harry," Severus said. "However, you could write him a letter and once again explain your point of view. If he agrees to accept the situation as it his, maybe he'll be able to convince his parents to allow him to remain at Hogwarts."

"I'll try that right away," Harry decided, and as soon as the meal was over, he headed into his room and composed his letter.

To Harry's great disappointment, he didn't receive a reply from Ron, and when he asked Professor McGonagall two days before the beginning of the school year, the Headmistress told him that she hadn't heard anything either. '_So that means Ron won't come back_,' Harry thought in disappointment, while he absentmindedly played with his food until Professor Lupin's calm voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Harry, there is something that we need to tell you. Have you ever heard of Sirius Black?"

Harry scrunched his face in thought. '_Black?_' he mused, '_Wasn't that my father's friend of whom Severus told me a few weeks ago?_' He uncertainly voiced his thoughts, noticing that his Head of House threw Severus a surprised look that made the Potions Master quickly explain what he had told him. Professor Lupin nodded in appreciation and informed Harry about Sirius Black being his parents' Secret Keeper and being locked into Azkaban for murder until he managed to flee a few weeks ago.

"Unfortunately," the Headmistress took over, "we are afraid that he might have broken out in order to get to you. Therefore, we do not want you to leave the castle on your own, and you may only attend the Hogsmeade visits in company of a teacher. Do you understand me, Harry? This is very important."

"I understand," Harry confirmed. On the one hand, he was very disappointed not to be allowed to go to Hogsmeade just with his friends; on the other hand, he was glad that the teachers had explained everything to him before the beginning of the school year. '_Maybe it's good that Dumbledore isn't the Headmaster anymore_,' he thought. '_He always kept everything from me in spite of needing my help in the end_.'

"Harry, on a different note, would you like to ride the Hogwarts Express, or do you want to meet your friends when they arrive here?" Professor Lupin asked kindly.

"I'd love to ride the train, because otherwise everyone would wonder where I was," Harry replied firmly.

"Very well then, in that case I'll take you with me to King's Cross, since I'm going to ride the train as well in order to make sure that everything is all right. We'll leave at ten o'clock."

"Thank you, Professor Lupin," Harry said in a soft voice. '_I'm so glad that everyone is going to come back, but it'll be sad without Ron_,' he thought, unaware of the fact that he would regret boarding the train two days later.

When Dementors searched the train for Sirius Black, Harry heard a strange voice and fainted, which made his Head of House, who unfortunately witnessed the scene, take him to Madam Pomfrey as soon as they arrived at Hogwarts, after he told Hermione that the Headmistress wanted to speak with her before the Welcoming Feast. When the Mediwitch instructed Harry to stay in the hospital wing overnight, Professor Lupin saved him by suggesting that he could spend the night in his own rooms, where Severus could keep an eye on him.

'_Professor Lupin is a good Head of House. Somehow he seems to be more personal than McGonagall, although I like her too_,' Harry thought, while he scrambled into bed with a huge pile of chocolate next to him on his night table. '_As much as I preferred to spend the evening in Gryffindor with my friends, it's better to be here than in the hospital wing. Gryffindor will be so quiet and sad without Ron though. I wonder if he likes it in Durmstrang. I don't even know where that is. I've never heard of it. At least I can ask the twins to tell me if they hear from him_.'

"Harry, don't fall asleep without eating all of your chocolate," Helga's stern voice pulled him out of his thoughts, and he saw the mini portrait that was standing on the night table glare at him.

_~ 100 days later ~_

It was a few months later, on the first day of the winter holidays, that Harry received a letter from the twins, while he was eating breakfast in the Great Hall together with the teachers.

'_Dear Harry,  
As you know we have made all kinds of effort to talk Ronniekins into trying to make our parents let him come back to Hogwarts the whole time, and now something happened that might make him agree.  
Do you remember his rat, Scabbers? Anyway, a black dog, according to our small brother it looked like a grim, came and ate his rat. We have no idea what Dumstrang is like that dogs can easily enter the school. Ronniekins is devastated and doesn't want to stay there anymore, especially as everyone seems to laugh about him, once they heard that he had transferred from Hogwarts.__By the way, we hope that you and your guardian will come and visit us on Christmas Eve. Our mother is going to write an invitation to Professor Snape. We can try out our new invention.  
Gred and Forge_'

Harry let the parchment sink and chuckled, before he told the teachers, who were throwing him questioning looks, about the black dog that had eaten Ron's rat.

"A black dog has eaten the rat?" Professor Lupin asked in an uncharacteristically sharp voice. "Harry, do you know what kind of rat it was?"

Harry let out a thoughtful, "Hmmm, I think it's a normal garden rat, and everyone is wondering how it could live so long. Oh, and it's missing a toe. It was an ugly rat, but Ron loved it."

"That was Peter Pettigrew," Lupin said, sounding terrified, provoking a heated conversation between the teachers that Harry wasn't able to follow.

"If Pettigrew was alive, he must have had a reason to not show himself to anyone. Could it be that the Potters changed their Secret Keeper from Black to Pettigrew, and that Black escaped from Azkaban, which shouldn't be a problem in form of a dog, to get his revenge?" Severus finally asked, leaving everyone to quieten down in shock.

"That could be possible; however, if so Lily and James didn't tell anyone, not even me, and I was very close to Lily," Minerva finally spoke up pensively.

"Right, you always babysat Harry," Madam Pomfrey threw in, smiling at Harry.

"Severus and Harry, this is only a suggestion, but I'd like to suggest that the two of you, and I am very willing to help, search the Potters' vaults for any information concerning the Secret Keeper," Lupin said gently.

Severus and Harry exchanged a quick look, before they agreed, and the two professors and Harry decided to head to Gringotts first place in the morning.

"I wonder what's in the vaults," Harry mused aloud when he was having tea together with Severus later that evening. As much as he loved being in Gryffindor, he was glad that he could spend the holidays in his own quarters together with his guardian, who had completely changed his behaviour during the last six months and was like the father he never had.

"There will be many old, dusty items," Severus smirked, "but those are the most interesting. I doubt that we're going to find the information we're looking for though."

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews - you're wonderful readers! I'll try to update sooner this time!_


	15. Revelations

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**15 – Revelations**

Early in the morning, Harry, Severus and Professor Lupin took the Floo to the Leaky Cauldron and headed straight to Gringotts.

"Harry Potter wants to see his parents' vaults," Severus told the goblin, who was eyeing them with obvious disinterest.

"Is Mr. Potter seventeen years old?" the goblin queried, letting his eyes wander up and down Harry's small figure.

"No, but Professor Snape is his guardian," Professor Lupin challenged the goblin, who held out his hand to Severus.

To Harry's surprise and relief, Severus handed the goblin a parchment, and the goblin nodded in understanding. "Very well then, please wait here for a moment."

A few minutes later, another goblin arrived and led them into a small side chamber, where he motioned for them to take a seat and spread a pile of parchments in front of Severus. "Mr. Harry Potter owns thirty-one different vaults." He pointed to the top parchment. "This is a list of all the vaults. The newest ones are at the top. The first vault is the only one, to which Harry Potter has access even under the age of seventeen. All the other vaults are locked, and he will only be able to gain access while accompanied by his guardian. The vaults at the bottom are those of the Founders of Hogwarts. Do you know which vault you wish to access today?"

"Thank you so much for your explanation, sir," Severus replied, slightly inclining his head. "We wish to search for information left by Lily and James Potter."

"Very well then, please follow me," the goblin said and led them to one of the carriages, which took them to a vault that looked exactly like all the others to both sides. He pointed to the door and to the next on the left side. "All the information as well as items left by Lily and James Potter should be in these two vaults. If you're done, just call for Agbark. I shall come and take you back."

The three wizards thanked the goblin profusely and set to work. Harry hesitantly followed the two teachers into the vault. '_It feels strange to enter my parents' vault, to think that they came here to leave things here. Perhaps they even left them for me, so that I could come and get them_,' he thought as he curiously glanced around the huge room that was packed with shelves, boxes and larger items on the floor.

"Harry," Severus' voice pulled him out of his reverie, "I suggest that you skim the books for some writing or even a diary or such, while Professor Lupin and I take a look at the items in the vault, because there might be some that could be dangerous and we have a bit more experience with dark objects, provided that you want us to see if we find anything that might be of interest for you."

"Yes please; thank you, sir," Harry agreed, feeling very relieved at his guardian's thoughtfulness. He found a few very old looking tomes; however, he resisted the urge to check them out first, remembering that they were searching for something that his parents had written. "Excuse me," he addressed Severus, who was busying himself searching through a nearby box, "would it be possible to take some of the books with me? Some of them look really interesting."

"Of course you may take things with you, Harry. Everything in this vault as well as in the many others listed on the parchment, which we received earlier, belongs to you," Severus replied in a soft voice, instructing him, "Just put everything, which you want to take with you, on the chair over there."

Harry happily agreed, and as the hours went by the pile on the chair slowly grew higher. It was just when Professor Lupin suggested that they should stop searching and take a break to have lunch that Harry opened a book, which seemed very different from everything else that he had found so far.

"Wait a moment, please," he said in excitement. "Here is something..." He hurriedly skimmed the rather thin book. "This must be my mother's diary."

Something shattered onto the floor when Severus abruptly turned around to face Harry, who laid the book into his guardian's hand. "Yes, this is Lily's diary." He hurriedly handed it back to the boy.

Harry observed the professor in surprise. For a few seconds, emotions flashed over the wizard's face, before he schooled it back to his normal blank mask. However, the few seconds were long enough for Harry to understand that something had to be wrong. '_We'll see. Maybe Mum wrote something about him_,' he thought, resolving to spend the evening reading the diary.

_~ At the Leaky Cauldron ~_

The three wizards strode back to the Leaky Cauldron, where they ordered three Chicken Terriyaki sandwiches for lunch. While they were waiting for the food to arrive, Harry opened the diary from the back and began to read the last entry from the last page.

'_October 25th, 1981  
No one knows about this, but I am a Seer, and I know that James and I are going to die very soon. Therefore, I'm going to finish this diary at this point, and I hope that my Baby will find it someday.__Harry, if you ever get to read this, please know that I love you very much, and I also love Severus. The two of you are the only wizards, whom I have ever and will always love.__Harry, you will probably remain alone. Please make sure that Severus Snape will become your guardian. He is your relative through Salazar Slytherin, and he would have been your father if I'd have had a choice. Have a great life, my sweet baby, and remember that I'll always be watching you from heaven.  
Your mother Lily_.'

"Well, that is interesting, Severus," Professor Lupin blurted out, looking at his former classmate, who was sitting there clearly in shock. "Harry, could you please read the previous entry. Maybe it says something about the Secret Keeper," he added in a soft voice.

Harry skimmed the previous few entries but decided not to read anything else aloud unless he found something about the matter that they were searching for. "Oh here is something," he suddenly said and began to read.

'_October 7th, 1981  
James finally agreed to change our Secret Keeper. Sirius as his best friend is much too obvious, and he is too reckless and childish for such an important task. I don't agree with Peter either, because I don't trust him, but as always James knows everything better. I'd have preferred Remus or Severus, if not Minerva or Professor Dumbledore..._'

"Oh no, poor Sirius!" Professor Lupin, who had been following the lines from Harry's left side, suddenly blurted out, causing Harry to look at him in surprise. "He was innocent all these years."

"What does it say?" Severus, who had remained quiet and absentminded for a few minutes, queried, and Harry quickly handed him the diary. "The mangy mutt seems to be innocent," he confirmed after skimming Lily's entry, causing Harry to throw him an amused look.

"Sirius is a dog Animagus, and he and Severus couldn't stand each other," Professor Lupin explained, smirking.

"Oh, is he the one of whom you told me? Who was my father's best friend?"

Severus nodded with a grim expression on his face.

"He was also your godfather, Harry," the Gryffindor Head said softly.

"Godfather?" Harry asked in surprise. '_Oh no, as much as I'd have liked to have a godfather all these years at the Dursleys, having a godfather and a guardian, who hate each other, doesn't sound good_,' he thought. "Now that I finally have a guardian, and the best guardian I can imagine, I don't need a godfather," he said firmly.

"As a godfather, he can claim the guardianship over you," Severus said darkly.

"No, he can't do that. I know this might sound strange, because I haven't even met him, but even my mother wrote that he is a reckless git and that she wanted you to become my guardian," Harry said resolutely. "Apart from that you're my uncle, aren't you?"

"Exactly," Severus replied, and Harry noticed contentedly that a small smile began to play on the professor's lips.

"Very well then, let's finish our lunch, and I suggest that we head back to Hogwarts and ask the Headmistress to speak with the Ministry of Magic in order to clear Sirius. Perhaps she has an idea how to solve the godfather matter," the former werewolf said firmly. "Harry, I will fully support you. If you want Professor Snape to remain your guardian, we'll ask Professor McGonagall to help us fighting for it, if we need to fight.

"Thank you, Lupin," Severus sighed. "However, I insist that Harry meets the mangy mutt, before he decides whom he wants to become his guardian. I don't want Harry to make decisions that he might regret afterwards because they were merely based on our words or a diary entry."

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter! I really appreciate them!_

_Question: Do you want Ron to come back to Hogwarts or not? At this stage, both variants are still possible, but I'll have to decide during the next chapter; so I'd like to know your opinions._


	16. Diaries

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**16 – Diaries**

Harry swallowed hard, while he looked at his guardian in shock. '_Doesn't he want to be my guardian anymore?_' he thought, terrified. However, he did not voice his thoughts and quietly followed the two professors into the fireplace to take the Floo back to Hogwarts.

Professor Lupin told the Headmistress what they had found out, and Harry showed her the diary.

"Mr. Black is innocent," she said in obvious relief as she leaned back in her chair. "I could never understand how she should have betrayed Lily and James. He was James' best friend."

"Indeed," Severus growled.

"The problem is," Professor Dumbledore threw in from his portrait, "that he is not only accused of having betrayed the Potters, but also of the murder of thirteen Muggles and Peter Pettigrew. Even if he didn't kill the Muggles, he won't be able to prove it if he consumed Pettigrew. The Ministry would still send the Dementors to kiss him if he showed up. Without a living Peter Pettigrew, there is nothing that you can do to prove his innocence."

"For once, I have to agree with your earlier Headmaster," Godric Gryffindor voiced from his portrait. "I suggest that you do nothing for the time being. If you want to clear him from the accusation of betrayal, the Ministry will confiscate the only evidence, which is Lily's diary. However, I don't know if that would be in Harry's best interests."

"That's true, sir," Harry replied, throwing Godric a grateful look. '_I can't wait to read mum's diary. I especially want to know what happened between her and Severus_.'

McGonagall let out a long sigh. "Am I correct to assume that you all agree with Professor Gryffindor?" she asked, looking at her two younger colleagues.

Severus slightly inclined his head, while Professor Lupin sighed and said, "I'm very sorry for Sirius, but I'm afraid that there is nothing we can do for him. The only positive aspect of our findings is that we don't have to worry about him trying to harm Harry."

"That's true. Harry, from now on you'll be allowed to go to Hogsmeade without a teacher's company," Professor McGonagall said gently, smiling at the boy.

"Thank you, Professor. I can't wait to go together with my friends. When are we going to have the first Hogsmeade weekend?" Harry queried, grinning happily.

The Headmistress glanced on the calendar on her desk, before she smiled at the excited boy and replied, "On the second Saturday after school begins again."

_~ Severus' quarters ~_

"Harry, what are we going to do about the Weasleys' invitation for Christmas Eve dinner?" Severus asked in a soft voice, motioning for Harry to make himself comfortable on the sofa, while he sat in his favourite armchair by the fireplace.

Harry remained thoughtful for a moment, before he replied truthfully, "I'm not sure. I'd love to see the twins and Ginny, but I'm uncertain how I feel about meeting Ron."

"I understand only too well," Severus said gently. "It is your decision. We don't have to go. Even if you don't want to refuse the invitation, we could still tell them that you didn't feel well." He raised an eyebrow at the boy, who squirmed in his seat.

"In fact, I don't feel too well today," Harry admitted in a quiet voice. "Maybe it's only because I'm tired though." Like Salazar had predicted in the summer, the basilisk poison had damaged his immune system, and he fell sick every other week.

"Why don't you lie down and rest for a while then? It's still early enough to post the reply tonight," Severus said in understanding. He fetched a cushion and a woollen blanket from another chair and made Harry lie down on the sofa, before he headed into his Potions lab.

Harry seemingly relaxed when his achy head came to lie on the cushion, but instead of trying to sleep, he engrossed himself in the diary. It began on Lily's first day at Hogwarts.

_'So many months, Sev and I have been looking forward to come to Hogwarts, but tonight, I wished there was a magical school, which we could attend from home. The Sorting Hat placed Sev in Slytherin and me in Gryffindor. Bad luck really. According to the prefects, we'll have classes together, but apart from that we won't be able to study together, as everyone has to either study in the library, where we mustn't talk, or in their respective common rooms. I just hope we'll still be able to remain best friends.'_

Noticing that his headache became worse, Harry quietly laid the book aside, pondering his mother's and Severus' situation as first years, before his thoughts travelled to Ron and the perspective of having his former friend back at Hogwarts. _'Maybe I should ask to be re-sorted,'_ he mused. _'The Hat will surely place me in Slytherin, so that it'll be easier for me to keep some distance to Ron instead of having to pretend being his best friend all the time.'_ Unaware of the fact that his guardian looked at him in concern, he let out a long sigh.

"Harry?" Severus queried, quirking an eyebrow.

"Oh, sorry, sir," Harry replied, casting his guardian an apologetic look. "I was just thinking that if Ron wants to come back, they should allow him to do so, no matter if I have a problem with it. It's not as if he did anything to me, apart from sending me the Howler and such." He remained quiet for a few seconds, before he added, "In that case, I'd like to be re-sorted if that's possible. I don't think he'll ever change. He'd always be jealous if I continued to be his best friend, so I think it'll be easier if we're in different Houses. Will that be possible, and if so, will I still be able to remain best friends with Hermione?"

Severus cast the boy a surprised look. "Why would you believe that the Sorting Hat would place you in a different House now?" he queried, quirking an eyebrow.

Harry smiled. "Because it wanted to sort me into Slytherin in the first place. I only talked it into Gryffindor because of Ron. He was the first friend I ever had and..." Harry slowly trailed off, unobtrusively wiping a small tear from his cheek.

"I understand," Severus said, thoughtfully. "And yes, I believe that you're right. Most likely nothing will cure Mr. Weasley's jealousy." He slowly ran a hand through his long, silky hair. "Considering your friendship with Ms. Granger, I can't imagine that it would end just because of you being sorted into Slytherin. As you'll probably get to know when you read your mother's diary, your mother and I have been best friends in spite of being in different Houses, at least until our fifth year."

_'What happened?'_ Harry wondered, giving the professor an enquiring look; however, Severus did not further elaborate.

"Have you decided if you want to accept the Weasleys' invitation for dinner?" the older wizard asked.

Harry sighed. "I think I shouldn't go, because I don't want to spoil Christmas Eve for anyone," he said slowly, unconsciously rubbing his forehead in a faint attempt to soothe the headache that was still bothering him.

This did not go unnoticed by his observing guardian. "Very well," Severus agreed, nodding. "I'll just write to Mrs. Weasley and inform her that you'd like to come but are not feeling well enough at the moment. Would that be all right with you?" he suggested.

"Yes please, thank you sir," Harry replied, feeling very relieved at the thought that Severus was willing to lie for him.

_~ Harry's Rooms ~_

Only during the night did Harry realise that it had not even been a lie. When he woke up, he could barely open his eyes, his chest hurt, and he felt hot and cold at the same time. _'No way I could go to the Weasleys tonight,'_ he thought, feeling utterly miserable. For a few minutes, he pondered if he should wait for Severus to come in order to fetch him for breakfast or if he should go to the living room and speak with Helga, but a glance at the time display on the ceiling told him that it was only 2:30 and it would take several more hours before his guardian would come looking for him. He slowly got up, holding on to his night table for a few seconds, noticing that his ears seemed to be clogged with cotton wool making him feel very dizzy. When he dragged himself into the living room, the four Founders looked at him in surprise.

"My aren't you early, Leo. So excited what Father Christmas might bring you tomorrow?" Godric joked, causing Rowena and Helga to glare at the Gryffindor.

"Isn't it obvious that Harry looks ill?" Rowena asked sternly, shooing Godric and Salazar out of the portrait.

"Harry, dear, come here to me for a moment," Helga instructed the boy, who complied immediately. "Now I hope this is going to work, I practised a lot," the Healer continued and waved her hand at the child, casting a diagnostic spell. When she finally let her hand sink, a small parchment appeared right in front of her. She quickly studied the parchment and sighed. "Harry, please go back to bed immediately and take my portrait with you into your bedroom. You caught lung infection, probably from playing Quidditch in the snow the other day. I'll call Misty, Madam Pomfrey's elf and ask her for the necessary potions. Please do exactly as she tells you, until Madam Pomfrey will come to check on you in the morning."

Unfortunately, Harry had to spend not only Christmas in bed but also most of the holidays. However, whenever he could, he read his mother's diary, and his guardian, his Head of House, the Headmistress and Madam Pomfrey spent much time keeping him company, using the opportunity to speak with the four Founders.

One day, when Minerva and Severus were visiting Harry, who was resting on the sofa in the living room, Salazar suddenly spoke up. "I have something to discuss with you. It's about Tom's diary, which was involved when Harry murdered my familiar. We believe that the diary was a Horcrux, and as far as I heard Harry destroyed it at that time. However, Rowena has seen several visions about other Horcruxes that Riddle has made, splitting his soul. Have you already decided on any plans to get rid of the other Horcruxes?"

Severus turned to Minerva, raising an eyebrow. "Do you know anything about Horcruxes?" he queried, barely able to hide his surprise.

The Headmistress shock her head. "No, but I'll ask Albus. He might have some information."

"No need," Salazar replied, shaking his head in apparent annoyance.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your many kind reviews and sorry for the delay!_


	17. Plans

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**17 – Plans**

Everyone looked at the ancient Potions Master in surprise. Salazar smirked and shortly explained, "A Horcrux is a piece of a human soul. I once knew someone who divided his soul into several pieces, making five Horcruxes. He had an evil mind, and I knew that he was up to no good; therefore, I invented a potion, which has the effect that it gathers parts of souls back into their original body."

"Would you mind sharing the recipe?" Severus queried, seeming uncharacteristically excited.

Salazar chuckled, before he said, sounding more amused than regretting, "I'm sorry, my boy, but since it was one thousand years ago and I never used it again, I don't remember the exact ingredients. However, the recipe must be in one of my potions books. I'm afraid Harry will have to spend some quality time in my library skimming the books for the recipe."

"No problem," Harry threw in, glancing at Severus. "May I go and begin right away, sir?"

"No," the adults replied, simultaneously, causing Harry to inwardly groan. _'Why does everyone have to be so over-protective?'_ he thought in annoyance, wondering if he could sneak out and go to the Founder's library during the night. However, knowing that the Founders always woke up when he did as much as leave his own room, he grudgingly dismissed the thought. To his chagrin, until the end of the holidays, Helga and Madam Pomfrey did not allow him to leave his quarters let alone spending time in the cold, wet Chamber of Secrets.

HP

In the morning of the day, on which the students were supposed to return from their holidays, the teachers once again joined him for breakfast in his quarters, like they had made it a habit during the holidays.

"Harry, Ronald Weasley has decided to come back to Hogwarts tonight," Minerva spoke up, hesitating. "Severus told me that in this case you want to be re-sorted?"

"Hmmm," Harry said, unintelligently. In fact, since he had discussed the matter with Severus on the first day of the holidays, he had had been distracted by his illness and by the discussion about the Horcruxes and had not thought about Ron and a possible re-sorting again. He remained thoughtful for a moment, before he replied in determination. "Yes please."

"All right, Harry," McGonagall said, giving him a sharp look. "You don't have to decide this now though, you can still think about it and tell me until ten minutes before the beginning of the Feast tonight."

Harry smiled. "Thank you, Professor. I really appreciate it, but it's okay. I've made my decision. I'd like to be re-sorted." Turning to his Head of House, he added, "Remus, please don't take this personally. It's not that I didn't like having you as my Head of House. These last few months were just awesome. It's really only because of Ron."

"I know, Harry," Lupin replied in a soft voice, returning the smile. "You'll be dearly missed though, not only in our Quidditch team. But let's see if the Hat is willing to place you in any other House anyway."

"All right," Harry agreed. _'That's true; I won't be able to play in the team anymore,' _he mused. A sudden thought crossed his mind, and he turned to the Headmistress. "Professor, would it be possible to be sorted before dinner? I mean not in front of everyone?" he asked, hesitantly.

McGonagall nodded in understanding. "Yes Harry, we can sort you right away if you prefer a smaller audience," she agreed immediately. "We only have to call Professors Sprout and Flitwick." Seeing that everyone had finished their breakfast, she suggested, "Let's go to my office and get over with it right away."

_~ The Headmistress' office ~_

With mixed feelings, Harry let himself sink into the chair between Severus and Remus and observed how Professor McGonagall fetched the Sorting Hat from the shelf. _'I just hope it'll sort me into a House, where I can get away without attracting much attention, although I really liked Gryffindor,'_ he thought. An instant later, his vision became blocked by the Hat, when the Headmistress placed it on his head.

'_Why do I have to sort you again?'_ the Hat's voice penetrated his ears.

'_Please just do it,'_ Harry thought back, recalling what Helga had told him about Sopho, whom she had described as a stubborn old piece of cloth. Fawkes had called him an annoying busybody.

'_No. I can't sort you in any single House,'_ the Hat informed him. _'You belong to all Houses.'_

Harry groaned. _'Two and a half years ago, you could sort me into Gryffinor, and you also offered Slytherin. Why is that not possible now?'_ he thought back, very upset.

However, the Hat did not reply but instead shouted into the room, "Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff."

"Sopho!" Godric admonished the Hat from his position in the portrait behind the Headmistress' desk, where all four Founders were assembled to watch Harry's re-sorting. "Behave yourself and properly sort the boy."

"I can't sort the boy. As the heir of all Founders, he belongs to all Houses," Sopho replied, demonstratively closing its mouth.

Like in a daze, Harry tore the Hat off his head and handed it back to the Headmistress. Shaking her head in annoyance, Professor McGonagall placed the Hat back on its shelf, mumbling something to herself like "time to abolish that antiquated piece of cloth". "Very well, Harry," she finally said, as she returned to her desk. "You now belong to all Houses."

"Whatever that means," Severus threw in. "If you don't want to attract additional attention by this very extraordinary Sorting, I suggest remaining in Gryffindor like before."

"Yes sir, I'll do that," Harry agreed immediately, "if it's still possible."

McGonagall's features softened, and she sounded relieved, when she said, "Yes Harry, I believe that would be the best."

Dumbledore, who had so far been quietly observing the event from his portrait, cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, my boy, but I don't believe it'll be possible to just ignore your latest Sorting, as here at Hogwarts, the Sorting is a magically binding matter. I'm certain that if anyone gives you House points, for example, they'll automatically become added to every House." Ignoring a collective groan, he continued, "The only way to prevent this would be to immediately abolish the Sorting system, although it even might be too late with this either."

Harry stared at the portrait of the former Headmaster in shock. _'If Ron hears about this, he'll go nuts again,'_ he thought, terrified.

"Let's see," Severus spoke up, smirking. "Five points to Harry Potter for the courage to have the Hat re-sort him."

While Harry looked up in surprise, everyone else turned to the small copy of the Hour glasses on the Headmistress' desk, letting out a collective sigh as five points were equally added to each of the four Houses.

_'Dumbledore is always right,'_ Harry mused, feeling extremely annoyed at his new situation.

"Albus, what do you recommend? Should we abolish the Hat?" McGonagall asked her old mentor.

"I'd stick to the Sorting system, until you have found a better system," Dumbledore replied, only to add, "Believe me, during the last fifty years, I've pondered the matter at least once a year. However, there is no better method. You could let the students choose their House, but that way, I believe that in ten years at the most, there wouldn't be any students left in Hufflepuff and Slytherin."

"That might be true," McGonagall agreed.

"Excuse me, Professors," Harry threw in, glancing from Dumbledore to his guardian. "What exactly will be the consequences for me? Apart from the fact that I won't be able to play Quidditch anymore."

McGonagall smiled at the boy. "Harry, I can imagine that you'll still be able to play Seeker. The Heads of each House could talk to their Quidditch captains and suggest that they allow you to train with their teams from time to time and that they make you the reserve Seeker in case the first Seeker cannot play in a match for some reason."

'_Ah, how often does that happen?'_ Harry thought, sadly. _'Once in five years?'_

"Harry, don't worry; it'll happen sooner or later," Severus said soothingly, correctly interpreting Harry's subdued look.

"Yes, it will," McGonagall agreed, "plus I've thought about something else." Turning to her colleagues, she continued, "I'd hear your opinion about setting up a Hogwarts Quidditch team to play friendship games, later maybe even a tournament, against other magical schools or perhaps other institutions like the Ministry or St. Mungo's."

"A wonderful idea," Professor Sprout said warmly, "and Harry could be the captain of our school team, representing all four Houses."

Everyone agreed with the plan, and the Headmistress promised to address the topic at the Welcoming Feast. The teachers decided that Harry was allowed to stay in his own rooms instead of changing dormitories every night.

"However, you should regularly spend some time in each of the common rooms," Severus said sternly, "also in Slytherin." Seeing that Harry looked at him with apparent apprehensiveness, he suggested, "I'll take you to the common room and properly introduce you to your new House mates, and so will the other professors. I suggest that you take dinner at the Gryffindor table tonight; however, come to me right after the end of the Feast, and you can join the Slytherins for our House meeting."

"Tomorrow it's Hufflepuff then," Professor Sprout added, smiling.

"Mr. Potter, we expect that you efficiently work on more understanding and friendship between the Houses," Professor Flitwick voiced his opinion, promising to introduce Harry to his House two days later.

"I'll definitely try," Harry replied, eagerly. "Professor McGonagall, would it be possible to make kind of a study room for our year, where I could spend some time together with friends of different Houses instead of only being able to be together with them every fourth day? Or may I take my friends into my own quarters every now and then?"

"Make a study room for every year," Rowena Ravenclaw threw in from Godric's portrait. "I've seen some important conversations taking place in at least two of these rooms."

The teachers promised to further discuss the matter in the staff meeting that was going to take place in the afternoon, and the Headmistress dismissed everyone.

_~ The Great Hall ~_

Ten hours later, Harry was sitting between Hermione and Fred, observing with mixed feelings how Professor McGonagall rose from his seat to address the students. _'Oh Merlin, I hope Ron is going to take this well,' _he thought, unable to see into the face of his former best friend, who was sitting on Hermione's other side.

_tbc..._

* * *

_Thank you so much for your many kind reviews here and your comments on Facebook. As requested, we will see a bit about Harry's school life in the next chapter. Would you like Ron to play a (good or bad) role in this story or not?_


	18. Houses

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**1****8 - Houses**

"Dear students, welcome back to Hogwarts," the Headmistress began to speak. "I know that you all are hungry, so I'm going to make it short, but I'd just like inform you about four matters. First of all, Ronald Weasley is back among us after spending the time since the beginning of the school year at Durmstrang. Please welcome him back; he'll be in Gryffindor as before." After a polite round of applause had died down, she continued, "Secondly, by chance Harry Potter has been found to be the heir of all four Founders of Hogwarts, and as such the Sorting Hat insisted that Mr. Potter was not able to remain solely as a Gryffindor any longer but had to belong to all Houses."

"What?" Harry could hear Ron hiss in a very upset tone, before most of the students began to applaud and the Headmistress continued.

"From now on, Harry Potter will live in the Founders' quarters to avoid having to change dormitories frequently; however, he will regularly spend time in all four common rooms and will take turns eating his meals at all House tables. Please welcome him to your own House. If Mr. Potter earns House points, they will be equally awarded to all Houses."

"What about Quidditch?" Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Quidditch captain, asked aloud. "Will Potter be able to play Seeker for our House team?"

"What?" Harry could hear Draco Malfoy's voice. "I'm not going to retire in favour of Potter."

"Wait Draco, you can play Chaser," Blaise Zabini shot back. "Harry is the best Seeker we could get."

Many students burst out laughing, and everyone looked at Professor McGonagall in expectation, as she explained about Harry being the reserve Seeker for all four House teams and captain of the newly to be founded Hogwarts team. Huge applause followed the Headmistress' announcement.

"Mr. Potter, are you going to hold tryouts or how will you put together your team?" McGonagall asked gently, motioning for Harry to stand up.

Harry hesitantly rose from his seat. "Thank you all so much," he began to speak, thoughtfully. "First of all, the Hogwarts team as well as the reserve team will contain members of all Houses, as equally as possible." Ignoring the applause, mainly coming from the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables, he continued, "Instead of holding tryouts, I will discuss the matter with the four captains and also watch the team practices for two weeks before setting up the teams." He remained pensive for an instant, before he addressed the four captains. "Can we meet here during lunch break tomorrow?"

While the four captains voiced their agreement, Harry saw from the corner of his eye that Ronald Weasley was just about to leave the Great Hall in a huff. Just when the redhead reached the doors, Harry announced, "As my successor to the position of Gryffindor Seeker I recommend Ginny Weasley," before he sat down, inwardly sighing. _'Thank Merlin not even the Slytherins ridiculed or boycotted me,'_ he thought, _'but Ron won't get over this easily.'_

"Thank you Harry," Ginny said, happily smiling at him from the opposite side of the table. "I'd love to be Seeker for our House team."

_'Maybe I'd have suggested Ron, but he really isn't good at catching the Snitch,'_ Harry mused, wondering if he would be able to reserve his former best friend a position on the school team. _'Maybe as Keeper.'_

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Professor McGonagall's announcement about the study rooms for each year, which again received huge applause, this time especially coming from the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. "The new study rooms are situated in a so-far unused corridor, not far from the hospital wing. Please make use of them and also invite your friends to join you." A small smile played on her lips, as she finally sat down, causing dinner to appear on the tables within seconds.

"Do you think Ron will ever come around?" Harry voiced his thoughts, more to himself than to his surroundings.

"Ahh Harrykins..."

"... you know him..."

"... he will..."

"... but it might take some time," the twins reassured him, making Harry smile at the twins' usual way of talking that felt strangely comforting.

"Ron is a git and will always be one," Ginny spoke up, sounding very upset about her brother's behaviour.

"Don't worry, Harry. Just ignore him for the time being. There is nothing we can do about his jealousy. We're going to study together in our study room, and it's up to him if he joins us or not," Hermione said, quietly, causing Harry to nod in relief.

"Thanks Mione," he replied, feeling very much reassured by her words.

As soon as he finished eating, he made his way to the Head table. On the one hand, he could not wait to attend the Slytherin House meeting; on the other hand, he was very apprehensive about entering the Slytherin common room. _'Thank Merlin Severus promised to take me with him, so I don't have to go to the snake's den just by myself,'_ he thought. _'Maybe I can improve my relationship with Draco and some of the others.'_

_~ The Slytherin common room ~_

When Harry uncertainly entered the Slytherin common room after Severus, the whole House was assembled sitting in a circle on the floor in the common room.

"Go and sit with your classmates, Harry," Severus instructed him, pointing to the other side of the room, before he carefully stepped around the students and came to stand in the middle.

"Here Potter," Harry heard Draco shout and instinctively followed the voice, casting the blonde boy a grateful look as he lowered himself in the empty spot between Draco and Blaise.

"Good evening," the professor began to speak. "There is no spectacular news that warrants a House meeting, apart from the news, which the Headmistress already relayed to you at dinner. I merely want to introduce your new House mate to you, and I request all of you..." he cast a warning glare towards the spot, where the seventh year boys were sitting, "...to accept Mr. Potter as one of our own."

To his surprise, Harry found that the atmosphere in the common room was unexpectedly friendly, and the Slytherins seemed to not hold grudges against him. When the professor retreated to his quarters, he soon felt himself surrounded by the members of the Quidditch team, who wanted to discuss his role as reserve Seeker, Quidditch practice and the Hogwarts House team. By the time he returned to his own rooms right before the beginning of curfew, he had not only agreed with Draco and Blaise to have breakfast together at the Slytherin table the following morning, but he also had the impression as if he had already gained several new friends.

_~ The third year study room ~_

During the following days, Harry was extremely busy, being introduced to Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff by their respective Heads of House, attending Quidditch practice of all Houses, and joining his friends in the study room every evening. On the first evening, Hermione, Neville and Harry had been the only students occupying the room, which was extremely comfortable and built around a huge fireplace like the common rooms. However, when Harry was sitting at the Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables during meal times, he invited his classmates to join him, and from the second day onwards, at least a dozen students from other Houses decided to do their homework in the study room.

_~ Harry's rooms ~_

On Friday evening, Harry tiredly let himself sink into the sofa in his quarters. _'Thank Merlin it's the weekend,'_ he mused. _'Tomorrow morning, I need to go into Salazar's library to search for the recipe for the Horcruxes. I hope I'll find something quickly, as on Sunday, I have to brew the wolfscure with Severus.'_

Since Severus and Harry had received the Order of Merlin for their wolvscure potion, they had diligently spent every Sunday in the lab brewing several batches of the cure, which the Healers at St. Mungo's administered to the remaining werewolves in the country.

"Salazar," Harry hesitantly addressed the Founder, who looked at him in expectation. "Would you be willing to accompany me to your library to search for the Horcrux potion tomorrow morning?"

"No Harry, you're not going anywhere tomorrow," Helga threw in, determined. "You were so busy this week that you have to take some time off and rest."

Ignoring his wife's protest, Salazar nodded eagerly. "Yes, snakeling, I believe that it's very important for you to search for the recipe. Don't expect to find it on the first attempt though." He chuckled, as he added, "I've written more than you might assume."

Harry groaned inwardly, as he drifted off to sleep, not even bothering to return to his bedroom let alone change into pyjamas.

HP

Very early on Saturday morning, Harry took Salazar's mini portrait with him and headed to the Chamber of Secrets to commence with his search. However, as Salazar had predicted, even with the Founder's assistance, Harry did not find what he was looking for at the first attempt. Very frustrated, he returned to his own rooms to leave Salazar's portrait at its usual spot, before he attended lunch at the Hufflepuff table, determined to spend the afternoon in the study room, knowing that at least Hermione, Neville, Draco, Blaise, and Susan, a Hufflepuff third year would be there. To his chagrin, the Ravenclaw third years only rarely joined their classmates in the study room, as they seemed to prefer the Ravenclaw common room surrounding for working on their homework.

_~ The corridor leading to Harry's rooms ~_

On this same first Saturday afternoon after the beginning of school, Ron Weasley lingered in the corridor in front of the study rooms, casting a longing look at the third year study room. _'I'd really like to go in there. I want to be with Hermione as well. Too bad that she only hangs out with Harry and the Slytherins now. But what would they think if I suddenly showed up?'_ he mused. _'On the other hand, I'm sick of Harry showing off, and he's surely going to be admired by everyone now that he's captain of the school team.'_ Letting out a long sigh, he slowly passed along the corridor, listening to the voices coming from inside the study rooms. _'Where might be the entrance to Harry's quarters?'_ he wondered. Hermione had told him that it was further down the same corridor, however, that the door was invisible to everyone but those, who had been invited by Harry to see it. _'Oh well, apparently I'm not one of them.'_ A sudden thought crossed his mind, as he eyed the paintings on both sides of him. Each of the paintings held a witch and a wizard in armour, who were riding on horses. _'I'll go to the library and do some research,'_ he made a for him uncharacteristic decision.

_tbc..._

* * *

_Thank you all so much for your valuable feedback. So far, the opions expressed on whether Ron should be good or evil were almost equal, so we'll see what my muse is going to decide eventually._


	19. A Failed Ambush

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**1****9 - A Failed Ambush**

_~ The library ~_

Ron entered the library, wishing that he had paid more attention to Hermione, when she had lectured him and Harry many times about what to find and where to search in the huge room. He hurriedly skimmed the shelves, figuring that it had to be a Charms book that he was looking for.

"Heya Weasley."

Ron looked up in surprise and turned his head towards the voice. "Crabbe," he replied, staring in disdain at the Slytherin. "Did Malfoy send you to spy on me or what? Now that you're all best friends with Potter."

The other boy shook his head. "No, on the contrary. Since Draco and Harry get along so well, Draco hasn't even done as much as even look at us."

"Exactly," another voice agreed, and Gregory Goyle came around the corner to stand next to the two boys.

_'Maybe it won't be bad to have two allies,'_ Ron mused, before he asked aloud, "Friends?"

"Okay, I'm Vincent."

"Gregory."

Somehow surprised that the two boys so easily agreed, Ron followed their example and introduced himself, before he hesitantly explained about his idea.

"You better ask your brother for a spell, not us, 'cause we're not so bright," Vincent said, pointing to Percy, who was standing a few metres away skimming the shelf.

_'When did he come here?'_ Ron wondered but found that it was a good idea and asked Percy, conveniently leaving out the intended purpose of the spell.

_~ The corridor leading to Harry's rooms ~_

After dinner, Ron returned to the corridor in front of the study rooms, the small parchment with the spell that Percy had found for him in his hand. Glancing around to make sure that he was alone, he took a quill and wrote Harry's name at the end of the spell, although he doubted that this measure would alter the spell to only work for Harry. Having done that, he exchanged the quill with his wand and proceeded to point his wand at the painting on the left hand side, while reading the spell from the parchment. Hoping that it had worked, he repeated the process with the painting on the right side of the corridor.

Contentedly sliding his wand into his robe pocket, he hid in a nearby alcove. _'I hope he'll return to his rooms well before curfew,'_ he thought, as he observed the quiet corridor from his hiding spot.

It was almost an hour later, when he spotted Harry finally entering the corridor, dressed in his Quidditch robes and carrying his broom. Glad when his former friend passed in front of the third year study room, Ron eagerly watched, only to slump in disappointment, noticing that nothing happened when Harry passed in front of the paintings. _'Why not?'_ he thought, upset, just when he saw the boy come back. _'Thank Merlin he only left his things in his room,'_ he mused, disappointment spreading over his face, as Harry again managed to pass in front of the paintings, unharmed.

As soon as Harry vanished into the third year study room, Ron made his way to the paintings, wondering what had gone wrong. _'Strange, Percy is really good at spells,'_ he mused. Not noticing that Hermione came out of the study room, observing him in surprise, he paced up and down in front of the painting, mumbling to himself, "Why didn't it work?"

All of a sudden, the armoured witches and wizards came out of their pictures and attacked the boy.

HP

Hermione was on her way to the girls' bathroom, when she spotted Ron in the corridor just a few metres behind their study room. _'Does he want to come in here?'_ she wondered. _'But the year is written on the door, so it's not that he can't find the room,'_ she thought, staring at her classmate in surprise, when he suddenly began to pace the corridor, ending up being attacked by the warrior wizards and witches in the painting.

"Ron, are you okay?" she hissed, completely shocked at the scene in front of her.

Ron was lying on the floor, not moving and seemingly unconscious. Other than that he appeared unhurt. Noticing in relief that the armoured wizards and witches let go of him, Hermione conjured a stretcher and levitated the boy onto it. Her wand trained at the stretcher, she let her eyes wander back at the now again quiet spot, picking up a small parchment that was lying on the floor. On the way to the hospital wing with the stretcher floating in front of her, she studied the spell on the parchment, her face transforming into an angry frown. _'It was meant for Harry... and supposed to work at the fifth time someone passed the paintings. Stupid Ron,'_ she thought as she left him in the hospital wing, before she swiftly walked to the Headmistress' office, the small parchment firmly gripped in her hand.

_~ The third years' study room ~_

Harry glanced at his wrist watch. _'Where's Hermione?'_ he wondered. _'She left half an hour ago just to go to the bathroom. I hope everything's all right.'_ However, his concerns only intensified, when another twenty minutes later, Cicero appeared in front of him.

"Master Harry, the Headmistress expects yous in her office now," the tall elf informed him, bowing slightly, before he popped away.

Seeing that everyone looked at him questioningly, Harry shrugged. "No idea what I might have done now," he said, sighing. "I hope I'll be back soon, as I really want to finish the Transfiguration homework tonight."

_~ The Headmistress' office ~_

To Harry's surprise, Hermione and Professor Lupin were assembled in Professor McGonagall's office, apparently waiting for him.

"Hello Harry," the Headmistress greeted him and motioned him to take the empty seat next to Hermione, before she explained to the surprised boy what had happened. "We wanted to discuss this with you first, before summoning Mrs. Weasley and speaking with Mr. Weasley, who is in the hospital wing with a concussion."

"No," Harry heard himself protest without even considering the matter. "Don't contact Mrs. Weasley, Professor. It's all right, nothing happened, and I think talking to Ron won't help with his jealousy anyway." Seeing that Hermione and the professors were looking at him in surprise, he continued, "In fact, I've been thinking about the matter, and I'm considering appointing him the reserve Keeper for the school team."

"Is he good enough to play on the team, Harry?" Professor Lupin was the first to voice his thoughts, sounding astonished.

"He's not bad I think, and it's not the first team but only the reserve team," Harry replied, thoughtfully, looking questioningly at the Headmistress.

"I think it would be awesome for him to get such a chance," Hermione said warmly. "That's exactly what he needs."

"Yes, that might be," McGonagall agreed, hesitating. "On the other hand, do you want to reward him for playing such a dangerous prank on you?"

Harry let out a long sigh. "Well, not exactly, but he doesn't know that I'm aware of what he tried tonight now, does he?"

"Harry, you're so much like your mother," Lupin spoke up, smiling down at the boy from warm, brown eyes. "She also gave everyone a second chance."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said quietly, thinking, "oh well, it's not Ron's second chance but at least his third or fourth. I just hope it'll help."

"Very well, Harry," the Headmistress decided, "this time we'll let him get away with his pitiful attempt; however, if he ever tries to play another prank on you, I'm going to inform his mother."

_~ The Quidditch pitch ~_

A week later, Ron was finally deemed well enough to play Quidditch, and even if he was not a member of the Gryffindor House team, Professor Lupin decided that Ron should attend the practice as second Keeper in order for Harry to assess if he played well enough to become a member of the reserve House team.

Harry, who was still attending the Quidditch practices of all four Houses, although he had almost put his team together by now, closely observed his former best friend. To his surprise but also relief, the boy did not play badly. _'He's good enough,'_ Harry thought, when something on the ground caught his attention.

A black dog was sitting in the Gryffindor stands, exactly in the top row, and seemed to be observing their practice. _'A black dog like the grim that Hermione was talking about the other day,'_ he mused, trying to remember where he had heard something about a black dog before. _'Oh right, Sirius Black is a black dog, the one, who ate Ron's rat,'_ he finally remembered, resolving to speak with the dog after practice. However, by the time he landed on the ground, the black dog was gone.

_~ Harry's rooms ~_

Later the same evening, when he returned to his own rooms, he spoke with the Founders, who always used to ask about his day, about the black dog. "If it's Sirius Black in his Animagus form, I'd like to speak with him, even if he can't openly show himself, because we can't prove that he's innocent," he admitted to his ancestors in the painting.

"Ahhh dear, I'm going to keep an eye on the grounds," Helga promised gently. "From my painting in Poppy's office I can overlook the Quidditch pitch, and I've seen him quite a few times during the last weeks, always at night though. He seems to be friends with Hermione's pet kneazle."

"Oh Granny, please tell me if you see him," Harry said, feeling very excited at the thought of meeting the man, whom his father had appointed his godfather. _'Mum didn't like him though,'_ he remembered and fetched his mother's diary from his own room to continue reading about her time at Hogwarts.

HP

A few days later, Helga informed Harry that the black dog was walking over the grounds together with Crookshanks.

"Oh thank you, Granny," Harry replied, immediately rising from the sofa, where he was skimming through a huge pile of Salazar's books.

"Harry, take my mini portrait with you," Salazar instructed him in a firm voice. "In case you get into trouble, I can quickly summon Severus."

"That's right," Helga agreed with her husband. "Be careful, sweetie."

Inwardly groaning at the Founders' over protectiveness, Harry fetched Salazar's portrait, before he hurried out in the direction of the Quidditch pitch, not caring about the fact that curfew had already begun.

_tbc..._

_Thank you all so much for your many kind comments here and on facebook. We'll see about the relationship between Ron and Harry..._


	20. Snuffles

**Hiding at Hogwarts**

**~ by Healer Pomfrey ~  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**20 - Snuffles**

_~ Hogwarts grounds ~_

Harry sighed in relief seeing that Crookshanks and the black dog were still running around the lake. He hesitantly stepped into the dog's way and said, "Hello there, I'd like to speak with you for a moment. You're Sirius, aren't you?"

The dog came to stand in front of Harry and looked up with warm brown eyes, waggling his tail in a friendly way, while he gave the boy a short nod.

"So it's true," Harry said, smiling. "I know that you can't transform here, because it's too dangerous, but I'd like to tell you something." Absentmindedly noticing that Crookshanks joined them and stood next to her friend, he continued, "Only recently, we found my Mum's diary and know that you're innocent. However, since you ate the rat Peter, we can't prove it. But maybe you could come with me to Professor Lupin's office. He'll be happy to see you."

The dog happily waggled his tail and readily took a few steps in the direction of the entrance doors, before he waited for the boy to follow.

_~ The corridors ~_

_'I just hope no one sees us, especially since it's after curfew,'_ Harry thought as he led the dog into the castle. However, before they even reached the stairs leading towards Gryffindor, a well known voice, which he really did not want to hear at this time, penetrated his ears.

"Mr. Potter, what are you doing out of your rooms after curfew?" Severus asked in a stern voice, causing the black dog to let out an angry growl.

"Be quiet Snuffles," Harry instructed his companion, before he turned to his guardian. "I'm very sorry, sir, but Helga informed me that he was out on the grounds, and I thought I'd take him to Professor Lupin to see what we can do to help him."

"Very well then," Severus uncharacteristically relented. "Come to see me when you're back in your rooms to speak about your punishment."

"Yes sir. Thank you sir," Harry replied, gratefully, and motioned for the dog to follow him upstairs.

"That was stupid. You should have told him beforehand," Harry could hear Salazar mumble from the small portrait.

Harry pulled the frame out of his robe pocket. "Sorry Granddad, but I completely forgot," he said, grumpily. "Maybe someone could have reminded me or alerted Severus on my behalf."

"Ah, behave yourself, snakeling," Salazar replied, frowning.

To Harry's relief, they had just reached the Gryffindor Head's office, and he hurriedly slid the portrait back into his pocket.

_~ Professor Lupin's office ~_

The Defence professor eyed his visitors in apparent surprise and hurriedly ushered them into his office, where he cast a strong silencing charm at the door and locked the fireplace against incoming Floo calls.

"Sirius, it's all right to transform here," he said gently, before he offered Harry a seat.

"I don't have much time though," Harry admitted in a small voice. "Professor Snape caught us and is waiting for me in his rooms."

Harry observed curiously how the black dog transformed into a tall man, who looked very dirty and worn out.

"Moony, since when are you Head of Gryffindor?" Sirius blurted out, looking at the other man in apparent admiration.

"Since Minerva became Headmistress at the beginning of this school year," Lupin replied. "Now Sirius, it was good that Harry brought you here..."

"Yes, thank you Harry," Sirius turned to the boy, pleasantly. "I didn't eat that good-for-nothing rat by the way. I'm not that stupid. I only took him with me, but unfortunately, Peter escaped, and I don't have a clue where he is. I thought that he might try to come to Hogwarts now that the Weasley boy is said to be back here, but Crookshanks told me that she hasn't seen him so far."

"Oh well, at least he's still alive, so there is a possibility that we can catch him. That's good," Lupin replied and suggested, "Why don't you stay here as my pet dog for the time being? That way you'd be safe and would be able to properly eat and sleep without having to fear that anyone recognises you."

"Snivellus saw me on the way here. Do you think he knows who I am? Harry called me Snuffles though, so maybe..." Sirius trailed off, giving his friend an assessing look.

The professor let out a sigh. "Severus knows about the matter, and he won't give you out. He's Harry's guardian by the way, and he's changed a lot since our time. Harry and Severus even cured me from lycanthropy."

"They what? You got rid of your furry problem? Oh Harry, thank you so much for doing this for Remus..."

"No problem," Harry quickly interrupted the man.

"As much as I enjoy your enlightening conversation, snakeling, it's time for you to return to your rooms. Severus is waiting for you," Slytherin spoke up again from Harry's pocket.

"Good evening, Professor Slytherin," Lupin greeted the Founder friendly, when Harry pulled out the portrait, inwardly groaning.

"Sorry, but I really need to go now," he apologized and stood from his seat.

"Only after you tell me why you're carrying a portait of one of the Founders," Sirius demanded, curiously eyeing the wizard in the small portrait.

"Harry is the heir of all four Founders, and he's residing in their quarters. The Founders in their portraits have already helped us a lot," Remus explained shortly, before he turned to the boy, smiling warmly. "All right Harry, go and tell Severus that I'm going to keep Sirius as Snuffles, my pet dog. Come and visit us tomorrow if you have time."

"I will," Harry replied, smiling back at the two men.

With mixed feelings, he hurried back to his own rooms, resolving to work on the Animagus transformation again as soon as he could spare a few minutes. _'If I already managed to transform into my ice phoenix form, I could save so much time,'_ he mused, as he entered the living room. He placed Salazar's portrait back on the shelf and hesitantly stepped into his guardian's quarters, glad that Severus was waiting for him in the living room, so that he would not have to search for him.

_~ Severus' quarters ~_

"Hello Severus. I'm sorry, sir," he spoke up in a soft voice.

The Potions Master put his copy of Potions Quarterly, which he had been reading, on the table and motioned Harry to take a seat.

"Harry, as much as I understand that you wanted to help the mangy mutt, you should have come to me and receive my permission to roam the halls after curfew," Severus spoke up, sighing. "What do you suggest for your punishment?" he then asked. "I don't want to give you detention or lines to write, considering your fragile health condition in combination with your many extracurricular activities like the brewing of the wolfscure, translation of more potions recipes or the leadership of the Hogwarts Quidditch team. However, you have to understand that you must obey to the rules."

"Yes sir, I understand that," Harry replied in a small voice. "I was just so excited and in a hurry that I completely forgot about curfew. Whatever punishment is fine with me, sir." He remained thoughtful for an instant, before he suggested, "Would it count as punishment if I assisted in the potions lab?"

Severus looked up, smirking. "You're always very welcome to assist, provided that you have time. Very well then, please try to remember the rules the next time you get excited about something, and now I suggest that you go to bed in order to be well rested for your classes tomorrow."

"Thank you sir," Harry replied, gratefully. "Good night, sir."

"Good night, Harry," the professor replied, and Harry had the impression as if a small smile was playing on the man's lips.

_~ Professor Lupin's quarters ~_

As soon as the last afternoon class was over, Harry excused himself from Hermione, who gave him a concerned look as he dashed away without any reasonable explanation.

Professor Lupin led the boy into his private quarters and instructed him to make himself comfortable on the sofa. "I'll call Sirius. He's probably asleep. He told me he hasn't properly slept since he was taken to Azkaban."

He left the room only to return a short while later with Sirius in tow. Harry noticed that the man looked clean and shaved, and he came straight to him, smiling broadly.

"Hi Harry, thanks so much for bringing me to Moony," he cheered. "I'm very happy to see you both. I don't know if anyone told you this, but I'm your godfather. Only the thought of you made me keep my mind in Azkaban. I'll fight to catch that rat and get free, and then I'm going to take you in. I'm sorry that it's taking so long."

Harry let out a long sigh. "Thank you Sirius," he finally said. "I really appreciate it; and until last summer I'd have been more than grateful if you'd come to take me away from the Dursleys. However, last summer we found out that Professor Snape is my uncle, and he became my guardian - a wonderful guardian. He's like the father I never had, because I don't remember my real parents. Anyway, I'd love to meet you from time to time, but I don't want to change my guardian again. Sorry if this sounds egoistic, but..." He slowly trailed off, looking uncertainly from Sirius to Remus.

"Yes it is," Sirius blurted out, disappointment written on his face.

"No Sirius, it's not," the Gryffindor Head contradicted in a firm voice. "I fully understand Harry, and I believe that Severus is doing a wonderful job as Harry's uncle and guardian. Therefore, I advise you strongly to give up the idea of taking Harry in, because it's too late for that; but I'm sure that Harry won't mind having a godfather in addition to send him birthday presents. Is that correct, Harry?"

Harry chuckled. "Yes sir," he then replied, feeling very grateful towards the professor. _'I just hope Sirius will listen to him,'_ he mused.

"Okay, I understand," Sirius said, sounding subdued, before he continued with resolution, "But if Snivellus ever hurts you in any way, tell me and he'll never forget it."

Harry couldn't help smiling at his godfather. "Thank you, Sirius," he replied, "but don't worry. Professor Snape is very kind and no comparison to the Dursleys. He even saved my life multiple times last summer."

"Nevertheless, we should try to find Peter," Lupin continued. "Sirius, I suggest that we talk about this together with Minerva and Severus. I'm sure they'll both be willing to help, and maybe they have better ideas than I have right now."

"That's true," Harry added, and Sirius agreed to meet the teachers later on.

_'That went fairly well, thanks to Remus,'_ Harry thought on the way back from dinner to the third years' study room. He'd have rather attended the meeting in the Headmistress' office; however, he still had lots of homework left that was due in the morning. _'If I could only transform in my phoenix form,'_ he suddenly remembered. _'Then I could just flash me to that rat and catch it. Tonight I'll practise the transformation. If I really concentrate on it, I should be able to manage it by the morning,'_ he resolved, completely forgetting that he could as well just send Fawkes to catch the criminal.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind feedback for the previous chapters!_


	21. Victories

**Hiding at Hogwarts  
****~ by Healer Pomfrey ~****  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**21 - Victories**

_~ Harry's rooms ~_

That evening, Harry returned to his quarters relatively early, spoke with the Founders for a few minutes in order not to have them worry about him, before he retired to his bed room. He cleaning up the table in front of his bed in order to make it look accidentally that he placed Helga's mini portrait on the shelf in the living room next to Salazar's. _'All right, now I really need to get a grip on myself,'_ he thought and began to practise the Animagus transformation.

To his relief, he was still able to transform both his arms into the white wings of his ice phoenix form, and after two hours of practising, he finally managed to change both his legs as well. _'Now the rest of my body but the head,'_ he thought, as he tried to concentrate on his phoenix form.

Just when he had managed to transform his complete body apart from his head, Fawkes let out a few trills. #Hey nestling, what are you attempting at this time of the night?#

"I'm trying to completely transform into my phoenix form," Harry replied, before he let out a long sigh, noticing that he felt completely exhausted.

#I see that, but do you want to put yourself through a burning day by trying to lay five eggs at once?# Fawkes queried. #You better wait an egg turn before practising more.#

_'Fawkes is really strange, but maybe he's right,'_ Harry couldn't help thinking, as he obediently changed back into his human form. _'But I need to help Sirius,'_ he then remembered, before the idea to just ask his familiar finally crossed his mind.

"Fawkes, do you know Peter Pettigrew alias Scabbers, the former rat of Ron Weasley?" he enquired, giving the phoenix an expectant look.

#Of course# the phoenix replied in a bored tone, pleasantly picking out a phoenix treat from his bowl.

"Could you perhaps flash yourself to him and bring him here?" Harry asked, hesitating, and explained about the matter between Sirius and Pettigrew.

#I'm going to bring you the evil one, nestling# Fawkes promised and flashed away.

Harry stretched out on his bed in exhaustion, wondering how long it would take Fawkes to return with his captive, when Helga's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Harry, take my portrait back into your bedroom right away," his grandmother told him in a seemingly upset voice.

Inwardly groaning, Harry fetched the ancient Healer's mini portrait and placed it back on his night table, not a second before Fawkes returned with a bright flash.

'Stun the rat,' Fawkes telepathically instructed the boy, who hurriedly pointed his wand at the Animagus and cast a stunning spell.

_'That was probably too weak,'_ he thought in concern. _'I was stupid to spend so much magic practising the transformation.'_ Summoning as much magic as he could, he cast another stunning spell at the traitor, before he fell back onto his bed and was engulfed in a peaceful unconsciousness.

Rolling her eyes in disapproval, Helga waved her hand over the boy, before she left the mini portrait and instructed her husband to wake up Severus.

HP

When Harry woke up, sunshine was flooding the room, and a huge balloon in form of a black dog, which very much resembled the grim, was hovering next to his bed. Every now and then, sparkling letters in neon colours that formed the word _'Thank You'_ erupted from the balloon.

_'What's that?'_ Harry wondered, glancing at his night table in confusion when he heard Helga chuckle in her portrait.

"Welcome to the world of the living," his grandmother told him in clear amusement, before her voice suddenly changed and she admonished him sternly. "How dare you spend the whole night practising the Animagus transformation. You completely depleted your magic."

"I'm so sorry Granny," Harry replied, sheepishly. "I forgot that I could send out Fawkes to catch the rat. Oh no, where is he by the way?" he suddenly remembered, looking around in shock.

"Harry," Helga replied, sighing. "That was two days ago, and Severus has already taken him to the Ministry of Magic. The trial took place the day before yesterday, and Pettigrew has already been sent to Azkaban and been kissed by a Dementor."

"So Sirius is free now?" Harry asked in excitement.

"Yes dear," Helga replied, smiling. "He received a trial yesterday, and Severus attended as a witness on your behalf."

"Severus did that for Sirius?" Harry asked with a combination of amazement and disbelief.

"Well, I suppose that it was more for you than for Sirius," his grandmother answered, clearly amused. "Anyway, Sirius Black is a free man now."

"Oh thank Merlin," Harry blurted out, closing his eyes in relief. _'Thus the balloon,'_ he realised, chuckling.

"By the way," Helga spoke up again in a much sterner voice. "I won't have you put my portrait out of your bed room, so that you can do what you want here unsupervised."

Harry gave the old witch a shocked glance. "But none of the other students have any teacher, relative or whomever live with them in the dormitory," he replied in a small voice.

Helga let out a snort, and Harry turned around in surprise, when a silky, baritone voice spoke up from the doorframe. "No one else is as reckless as to spend the whole night neglecting their own health just to help someone with something that's not even urgent. However, if you prefer to spend the nights in my guestroom without the annoying mini portraits of your caring grandparents, be my guest."

"No thank you," Harry replied quickly, seeing that Severus was grinning in obvious amusement. "All right, Granny, I'll leave your portrait here," he promised, inwardly rolling his eyes.

"Professors McGonagall and Lupin are very impressed by your new broom by the way," Severus stated, quirking an eyebrow.

"Broom?" Harry queried in surprise, only now realising that the dog balloon was fastened to a huge parcel. _'Firebolt'_ it said on the package. "Wow, it looks awesome," Harry blurted out in amazement.

"It's the newest broom on the market," Severus informed him, smirking. "Apparently Black had nothing better to do with his new freedom than to go and purchase a new broom for you."

Harry chuckled, before a sudden thought crossed his mind. "Is Sirius still here at Hogwarts?" he asked, hesitantly. _'I shouldn't ask Severus, because he doesn't like him, but since no one else is here right now...'_

Severus let his hand run through his hair, before he replied calmly, "Black is going to remain at Hogwarts. If Professor Lupin will be unable to keep his post over the end of the school year due to the curse the Dark Lord placed on the position, Black will become the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. If Lupin manages to keep the position, Black is going to teach Arithmancy."

"Oh I hope Remus will be able to remain the Defence professor. He's an awesome teacher," Harry said in a soft voice.

"The Headmistress wants to keep him in any case," Severus admitted. "In the worst case, she plans to put up a new post, that of a students' advisor. He will remain the Gryffindor Head in any case."

"That's good," Harry replied, smiling at his guardian.

"Please keep this information to yourself for the time being," Severus said sternly, causing Harry to roll his eyes in annoyance.

"Of course I will," he promised, indignantly.

HP

Unfortunately, due to the depletion of his magic and being unconscious for two days, Harry was not allowed to test his new broom, let alone play Quidditch, for two more weeks, so that the Hogwarts team was still relatively unprepared, when the first match of the Hogwarts students team versus the teachers team took place.

_~ The Quidditch pitch ~_

It was a warm and sunny day at the beginning of June, when the two teams assembled on the Quidditch pitch. Harry had invited Arthur Weasley to referee the game, and the redhead had happily agreed, knowing that the twins were playing on the main team, while his two younger children were on the reserve team.

Minerva and Harry as the team captains shook hands, before Mr. Weasley greeted everyone and introduced the teams. "Welcome to the first match of the newly founded Hogwarts House team and the teachers team. For the teachers team the following members are going to play: Remus Lupin as Keeper, Filius Flitwick and Sirius Black as Beaters, Poppy Pomfrey, Rolanda Hooch and Minerva McGonagall as Chasers, and Severus Snape as Seeker. For the students team, we have Marcus Flint as Keeper, Fred and George Weasley as Beaters, Cedric Diggory, Draco Malfoy and Susan Bones as Chasers, and Harry Potter as Seeker. I wish everyone an agreeable Quidditch match."

_'At least this everlasting rain has stopped,'_ Harry mused as he circled above the Quidditch pitch, feverishly searching for the Snitch. Glad that he could just concentrate on catching his favourite ball and did not have to watch the goals until his team had gained a certain number of points before he was allowed to finish the game, he thoroughly enjoyed himself.

"Harry, be careful..."

"A Bludger," he suddenly heard the twins shout and hurriedly let himself sink several metres, before he turned around, only to see that Severus just went into a deep dive.

_'Oh no, he's surely seen the Snitch. Where is it?'_ he thought, as he feverishly pulled into a very fast dive, from where he was only able to pull up again an instant before almost hitting the ground. Feeling his knees shake at his own dangerous stunt, he managed to grab the small ball out of the air, just before Severus' hand closed itself around his hand that was firmly gripping the Snitch.

"Harry Potter caught the Snitch," Mr. Weasley announced under huge applause. "The students won 270 - 130. Congratulations students."

Exhausted and still a bit shaky, Harry descended to the ground, where Hermione was waiting for him, holding out Salazar's mini portrait, in which all four Founders were assembled, trying to look out from the small frame at the same time.

"Well done, Leo," Godric commended him, before Helga and Rowena pushed him out of the frame.

"What do you think you're doing? We thought you were going to crash into the ground," his grandmothers shouted at him, simultaneously.

"Exactly Harry. I was so scared," Hermione said in a small voice, shock clearly written on her face.

"Ah, I'm sorry Mione, but it was nothing. I know what I'm doing," Harry lied, inwardly groaning upon seeing Severus head over to him. The man was clearly displeased.

"Sorry for catching it faster," Harry apologized in a light tone, smirking at his guardian.

However, the Potions Master glared at him. "Harry, I understand that you wanted to catch the Snitch; however, it's only a game and not worth endangering your life," he said firmly. "If you ever do such a stunt again, you'll find yourself watching the matches instead of participating."

"Yes sir," Harry replied, darkly, before he excused himself to take a shower. "I'll see you at the victory party in the Great Hall," he whispered to Hermione on their way back inside the castle and slowly returned to his own rooms. After taking a shower and changing into fresh clothes, he felt not as shaky anymore; however, he noticed, horrified, that his ears hurt terribly and he was slightly dizzy. _'Oh no, I just hope I won't get ill now,'_ he thought in annoyance. _'I really have to study next week, considering that the end of year tests are going to take place the week after.'_

To his relief, neither Severus nor his grandparents seemed to realise that he was feeling poorly during the rest of the weekend, and Harry slowly relaxed, resolving to just ignore the problem. _'Thank Merlin we don't have Quidditch practice anymore before the tests,'_ he thought. However, on Sunday night, he had a very strange dream, and when the dream recurred on three consecutive nights, he knew that he had to get help. _'I just wonder whom I should tell about it,'_ he mused, before he finally decided on Severus, knowing that the Potions Master would make less of a fuss than anyone else.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments and reviews for the previous chapter!_


	22. Horcruxes

**Hiding at Hogwarts  
****~ by Healer Pomfrey ~****  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**22 - Horcruxes**

_~ Professor Snape's rooms ~_

After his last afternoon class on Tuesday, Harry hesitantly entered his guardian's quarters; however, the professor was absent, and Harry left the rooms through the entrance door in order to check his office and the nearby classroom, where he found the Potions Master.

"Sir, may I speak with you for a moment?" he addressed the older wizard, who gave him a short nod and led him back into his living room.

"Harry, what's wrong?" he asked, taking in the boy's pale face in concern.

"I had a strange dream, and I'd like to show it to you," Harry replied, absentmindedly rubbing his forehead.

"Show me," the professor demanded, turning onyx eyes to the child's emerald ones. A few minutes later, he left Harry's mind, deep in thoughts. "Harry, did your scar hurt, when you had this dream?"

Harry let out a sigh. _'My head hurts all the time since that Quidditch match,'_ he thought. "I'm not sure if it was my scar," he finally answered. "I've seen the same dream already three times though. Oh well, maybe it wasn't exactly the same, but it was at the same place and with the same people."

Severus' expression became stern. "Harry, I believe that it wasn't a dream but a vision of something that really occurred at the time when you saw it. The adults in the scene are Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father, and if I'm not mistaken Barty Crouch Junior. Although I thought that he was dead," he added more to himself than to Harry. "Recalling what Salazar told us about Horcruxes, I'm afraid that the strange creature in your vision might be the Dark Lord. Only because you're connected to him through your scar, you were able to view the scene."

"Oh no," Harry blurted out, horrified. "But it makes sense. So then I'll have to hurry now to find the recipe of the potion, which Salazar was talking about, before he gets stronger or gets a real body."

"I'm afraid so, Harry;" Severus agreed in a soft voice. "If there's anything I can do to assist, please let me know. You don't have to do everything on your own."

"Thank you sir," Harry replied, gratefully. "I know, but since most of the books are written in Parseltongue, I'll just have to search." He pondered if he should tell his guardian about his ear problem, but realising that he actually felt better than during the last couple of days, he decided to just keep the matter to himself.

HP

Since Hermione insisted to study together for the end of year tests every afternoon and evening, Harry resolved to head to the Chamber of Secrets in the mornings before breakfast. Salazar usually accompanied him, and as far as he could from the small portrait, the ancient wizard tried to skim his bookshelves to assist the boy. However, it still took Harry until three weeks into the summer holidays, before he finally found the book containing the potion that he was looking for. He immediately translated the recipe and took his translation to Severus, who thanked him profusely.

"Shall I assist?" Harry offered, giving the Potions Master a questioning look.

"If you have time," Severus replied, smirking. "I'd appreciate it, considering the pile of potions that I still have to brew during this summer."

An hour later, a dark brown potion was simmering in the cauldron. Harry eyed it with disgust. "Are you sure that the colour isn't off?" he asked, doubtfully.

Severus quirked an eyebrow. "Why don't you fetch Salazar and show it to him?" he suggested, nodding contentedly when Harry followed his advice right away.

To their relief, Salazar deemed the potion correct, and Severus bottled a large portion of it, before he banished the rest.

"Now let's go to the Headmistress' office to discuss how to proceed," Severus told Harry, who slid Salazar's portrait into his robe pocket and followed his guardian to see Professor McGonagall.

_~ The Headmistress' office ~_

The Headmistress called Professors Black and Lupin, before she motioned Severus to explain about the Horcruxes. Everyone listened with interest, even when Salazar demanded to be taken out of Harry's robe pocket and added to the explanation.

"As we know from Harry's visions," Severus continued, "the Dark Lord seems to be alive in the form of a small creature that resides and is being fed by the house-elves at Malfoy Manor. From what I've learned from the Founders, if he ingests the potion, it'll work over a few hours or even days, but then, since he doesn't have a whole body that would be able to stomach the parts, his complete body is going to explode," he said, pensively.

"How are you going to make him take that potion?" Sirius queried, eyeing the dark brown liquid in clear disgust.

"I believe that sending a house-elf to him with the instruction to spell the potion into his system would be the most adequate procedure," Severus replied, calmly.

Everyone agreed, and Harry suggested, "Maybe we should ask Dobby, considering that he knows Malfoy Manor really well."

"That's a good idea," McGonagall said warmly, and Harry quickly called the small elf.

Dobby was jumping up and down with excitement upon hearing about the matter. "Yes, Dobby wills helps the great Harry Potter to defeat the one whose name Dobby isn't supposed to say," he promised, before he accepted the phial from the Potions Master. "Dobby wills comes back right away."

With that the elf popped away, and everyone in the Headmistress' office exchanged tensed looks, hoping to see Dobby back again soon.

Almost two minutes later, the elf appeared again with a loud crack. "Dobby has done what the great Harry Potter wanted," he announced, handing the empty phial back to Severus.

"Very well, thank you very much, Dobby," McGonagall said in appreciation, before she turned back to her colleagues. "Severus, you and Harry have made yourselves so rare recently that everyone was worried about the two of you. From now on I expect you both to at least attend two meals in the Great Hall every day, and I also want both of you... and this is in fact an order from Poppy," she threw in, "to go for a walk or go flying for an hour every day."

"You need to call Pomfrey here," Salazar demanded from his mini portrait; however, Harry was too excited to notice that the Founder was talking in his robe pocket.

The assembled teachers agreed to play Quidditch together every evening after dinner, when Harry suddenly let out a moan, before he collapsed, unconscious, with his scar bleeding.

Only when Severus leaned over the boy to assess his condition, did he hear Salazar speak in his frame.

"You should have listened to me," the Founder growled. "It could be expected that he'd faint, when the Horcrux was extracted from his scar. The boy will be all right though. He just needs some rest."

"Nevertheless, I'm going to call Poppy," McGonagall announced and hurried to the fireplace.

_~ The Great Hall ~_

Two days later, Harry was back to consciousness, and Helga thoroughly checked on him, before she allowed Severus to take the boy with him to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Is he now really dead?" Harry suddenly remembered to ask, excitedly.

"Yes my dear," McGonagall was the first to reply, casting him a proud look.

"The Dark Mark is completely gone," Severus informed him, quietly. "Therefore, we assume that he must be gone for good this time."

"Thank Merlin," Harry blurted out and relaxed in his seat between his guardian and the Headmistress.

"Congratulation Harry and Severus, you did an awesome job," Remus threw in, looking at the two wizards in appreciation.

McGonagall let out a long sigh. "I just hope that due to Voldemort's demise, the charm that he had placed on the Defence Against the Dark Arts position will be broken, so that nothing is going to prevent Remus from remaining our Defence professor," she said, smiling. "Sirius, thank you very much for being ready to accept the position if the need arose; however, I believe that we'll be happy to have you as our new Arithmancy professor."

"Of course Minnie and congrats Moony," Sirius replied, grinning around.

"Harry, are you up to playing Quiddich?" Rolanda Hooch enquired, smiling at the boy with enthusiasm.

"Of course," Harry replied, returning the smile. "Will we get two teams together to play?"

"How about witches against wizards tonight?" Hooch suggested with a broad grin on her face. "Poppy, Minnie, Pomona and I against Remus, Sirius, Severus and Harry?"

McGonagall groaned in annoyance. "Rola, you won't have a chance against Harry as Seeker, but be my guest."

Everyone agreed with the constellation, and after dinner, Harry as well as the teachers returned to their quarters to change into their Quidditch attire and fetch their brooms.

_~ The Quidditch pitch ~_

_'I just have to catch the Snitch before Madam Hooch,'_ Harry thought, feverishly searching for the small ball that was hiding in the clouds, which were hanging astonishingly low on that relatively cool summer evening.

Unfortunately, after a few minutes of zooming through the air, he noticed that his ears began to ache again. As well as possible, he tried to ignore the pain; however, a few short dives later, he felt outright dizzy, and before he knew what happened, he lost the grip on his broom and tumbled downwards in a free fall.

When Harry's mind returned to awareness, he found himself right next to the Giant Squid in the lake. Even feeling more awful than before, he gratefully accepted that the Giant Squid gently lifted him out of the water and laid him down on the shore. _'Oh no, everyone is going to make a fuss,'_ Harry thought in annoyance, when he slowly tried to stand up but was stopped by Pomfrey and Severus.

"Stay where you are," the Healer instructed him sternly and began to wave her wand over him, casting drying, warming and cleaning spells, before she proceeded to assess his condition. "Did you not notice before that you're suffering from vertigo?" she then asked, incredulously.

"No Madame," Harry replied, innocently. "I feel fine. Please may I leave?"

"Harry!" Severus admonished him sharply. "You just lost the grip on your broom and fell into the lake. Apart from the fact that you have problems with vertigo as Madam Pomfrey just informed you, you're surely going to catch a cold at the least if not worse, considering that the Giant Squid is ill with the Squid's flu."

_~ Harry's rooms ~_

_'Oh no, my luck,'_ Harry thought, inwardly groaning. Steadied by Severus, he walked back into his own rooms, where the professor magically exchanged his Quidditch outfit with school pyjamas and instructed the boy to lie down. An instant later, the Healer arrived, carrying several potions.

"Harry," Pomfrey asked in a softer voice than before, "Are you feeling dizzy? Or do your ears hurt?"

"And we want to know the truth," Helga threw in from the mini portrait on the night table.

"Both," Harry admitted in a small voice, leaving the adults to wonder what had triggered the problem.

_'So much about fussing over me; now let me go to sleep please,'_ Harry thought, suddenly feeling incredibly tired. However, the Healers were not done with him yet and continued to ask questions, which Harry half-heartedly answered.

"No flying until I'll tell you otherwise," Pomfrey finally said in a stern voice, before she took her leave, announcing that she would come back in the morning.

_'Until I tell you otherwise,'_ Harry thought, feeling very upset. _'Well, then I really have to work on finishing the Animagus transformation, so that I can at least fly in my phoenix form.'_

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments and reviews for the previous chapter!_


	23. Ancient Magic

**Hiding at Hogwarts  
****~ by Healer Pomfrey ~****  
**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**23 - Ancient Magic**

Harry spent the following days sulking because of not being allowed to fly. _'Why does everyone have to make such a fuss?' _he thought in annoyance. _'I won't fly if I feel dizzy, but if I feel fine, they should allow me to fly. I really want to continue being the captain of the school team.' _

"Don't worry about that yet," McGonagall told him in a soothing voice, when she visited Harry, who was stuck in his rooms after catching the Squid's flu from the Giant Squid. "Maybe you can still train the team without flying and remain captain. Perhaps Madam Pomfrey will at least allow you to participate in the matches, provided that you're well enough."

Harry felt slightly comforted by the Headmistress' words; however, he was still annoyed, before the Founders managed to completely distract him.

_~ Harry's rooms ~_

One day, when the Squid flu was already on the mend and Harry was sitting in the living room translating another of Salazar's books, Godric Gryffindor spoke up in a firm voice.

"Leo," he addressed the boy, "I've spoken with my colleagues, and we agreed on something." Seeing that Harry looked at him with apparent interest, he explained, "Since the burden of the prophecy between you and Voldemort is gone now, we expect you to concentrate on your studies, and we're going to teach you Ancient Magic. Every day between the last afternoon class and dinner, one of us is going to instruct you in the subjects, which we taught in our time."

"All right," Harry wearily agreed, wondering when he was supposed to do his homework. _'Oh well, since I can't attend Quidditch practice anymore except for that of the school team, I'll have more time during the evenings,'_ he realised.

HP

During the following two years, the Founders intensely taught Harry. Apart from Potions, Transfiguration and Charms, they instructed him in Sword Fighting, Warding Technique, Arithmancy, as well as Healing, Occlumency, Wandless Magic and Divination. Since Salazar found it too dangerous to make Harry brew difficult potions without being able to efficiently help the boy in case something happened, he asked Severus to participate in their Potions classes, and the younger Potions Master happily agreed.

_'I wished I could skip Trelawney's Divination class,'_ Harry thought one day. _'Rowena's teaching is much better, apart from the fact that she's a real Seer. Transfiguration and Charms are so different and interesting that I don't mind attending both.'_ When he spoke about the matter with his guardian one day, Severus suggested to talk to the Headmistress.

_~ The Headmistress' office ~_

"The Founders have been teaching you since the beginning of your forth year?" McGonagall asked, incredulously.

"Yes, oh well, only after the last afternoon class and a few hours during the weekends though," Harry replied, unsurely averting his eyes to the floor.

"Minerva," Godric Gryffindor suddenly spoke up from his portrait. "I'd like you to enquire with the Ministry of Magic if there's a possibility for Harry to take his OWLs in Ancient Magic."

McGonagall cast him a surprised look. "That would be brilliant, but I don't think they'll agree, as they don't have anyone who'd be able to test Harry," she replied, thoughtfully.

Salazar let out a snort, as he pushed Godric aside. "Godric, Rowena, Helga and I have already tested thousands of students for their OWLs and NEWTs one thousand years ago. Why wouldn't we be able to perform the tests now?" he sneered, causing the Headmistress to roll her eyes and Harry to chuckle.

HP

Harry could barely believe his luck, when McGonagall informed him a few days later that the Ministry had in fact agreed to accept his OWL in the subject Ancient Magic, tested by the four Founders of Hogwarts in their portraits. To his relief, the Ancient Magic OWL took place a week after all his other exams, so that he had some time to fully concentrate on the subject, which consisted of so many different areas.

_~ Harry's rooms ~_

In the evening of his Ancient Magic test, he slightly hesitantly returned to his rooms, inwardly groaning upon noticing that the Founders were observing him with stern expressions.

"Did I fail my test?" he asked, worriedly, looking from one to the next.

"You'll know when you receive your results," Godric replied in a firm voice.

_'I surely failed,'_ Harry thought, when even Helga did not say anything soothing but merely instructed him to take it easy during the following weeks.

HP

It was a few weeks later that the Headmistress visited him, when he was once again busily translating one of Salazar's books.

"Harry, I just received the results of your OWLs," McGonagall said kindly, handing him an envelope. "Your results are excellent. Congratulations my boy," she added, smiling at Harry's stunned expression upon viewing the results.

"I received an O in Ancient Magic," Harry spoke up in a small voice, glancing at the Founders.

"Did you expect anything else after we taught you for two years?" Salazar replied, sneering.

"No sir," Harry replied, rolling his eyes at his grandfather.

"Harry, I'd like to suggest something to you," McGonagall spoke up. "You could take Ancient Magic as an NEWT subject and instead skip one or two of the selective subjects like Divination or Care of Magical Creatures. That way you could properly study during class time and would have more time to study for all subjects, in which you wish to take your NEWTs."

"Will it be possible to take my NEWTs in Ancient Magic too?" Harry queried, looking at the Headmistress in excitement. "That would be awesome."

"Yes my boy," McGonagall replied, gently. "I already discussed this with the Minister of Magic, and I told him that I want to suggest to you to become the professor for the newly to be founded subject of Ancient Magic after your NEWTs."

"I'd like that," Harry said, smiling. "I don't know if I'm good enough to teach the subject though."

"Of course you are," Godric threw in from the Founders' portrait. "Who else would be able to teach it if not you?"

HP

During the following two years, the Founders intensified their classes with Harry, and just like with his OWLs, he managed to receive an O in his Ancient Magic NEWT.

_'Thank Merlin I passed it,'_ he mused, feeling extremely grateful that the Founders had been so forthcoming and tell him the result right before he had to leave for the Leaving Feast in the Great Hall.

_~ The Great Hall ~_

"Harry, I'm going to come back here after the holidays," Hermione whispered to him, while they were waiting for the desert to be served. "Professor McGonagall has invited me to become the new Charms teacher, because Professor Flitwick wants to retire."

_'Ah that's why she asked me to become the Ravenclaw Head of House,'_ Harry mused, casting his friend a huge smile. "I'm so happy, Mione. That's the best that could have happened."

HP

During the night, Harry lay in his bed awake for hours, unable to sleep, since his thoughts kept drifting off to a young witch with bushy brown hair. It was in the early morning hours that he made a decision.

_~ The Hogwarts grounds ~_

In the morning, Harry boarded one of the carriages that were going to take the students to the station together with Hermione and Neville.

Glad that no one else but Neville was with them, he summoned all his courage and asked in a soft voice, "Hermione, would you be willing to become my wife?" Realising that she stared at him in surprise, he stammered, "You don't have to decide now. We can speak about it when you come back at the end of the holidays."

"No need," Hermione replied, smiling, when they got off at the station. "I'd love to become your wife."

Barely able to believe that she replied positively, Harry stared at the girl, only realising what had happened, when she leaned over and pulled him into a kiss. _'She said yes,'_ he thought, _'I did it. I managed to ask her and she said yes.'_ Feeling extremely happy, he laid an arm around her back and led her away from the platform, back in the direction of Hogwarts, not caring about the surprised looks, which they received from their classmates.

"Where are we going, Harry?" Hermione queried in apparent surprise, leaning into his embrace.

"Hiding at Hogwarts," Harry replied, smiling.

**THE END**

_Thank you very much for your kind support throughout this story!_


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